The Bones of What You Believe
by Bru21
Summary: "..Maybe they'll save you from me. Will I be the strong hand keeping you safe, or will I break you in half": You believe in us and I want to believe you: But the world is against us. FlagxMoone mainly: Mild Language
1. Science&Visions

So, I actually liked this movie a lot, and saw it a second time, and then really, really liked it. I see what people don't like-I get it. Just to me, I ended up liking it all and more so on a second viewing. Thing is, about immediately I fell in love with Rick Flag and June Moone, so I'm pretty sure shipping goggles are the reason I love this movie so damn much~ But, I'm impatient and there's no Flagmoon fics (yet) and I need more so I'll throw my sad attempt out just to hopefully start a snowball and get actual quality fics~

Disclaimer: I own nothing! Also, there's, like, three curse words..?

* * *

 _Breathe_

 _Don't speak_

 _It's leaving your body now_

* * *

 _"…Congratulations are in order for the young architecture student. The design was chosen out of thousands of entries-"_

He walks in on her sitting at the edge of the bed, eyes glued to the TV. It's a repeat viewing of this afternoon's news, showing the unveiling of the designs for the Midway City tribute to be designed at 'Ground Zero'. She doesn't even see him or hear him enter the room; her eyes are so fixated on the screen. She's dressed in bare shorts that reveal her goosebumps and her mouth is ajar slightly, breathing sharply. He'd say it was 'like she was in a trance' but he knows, from firsthand experience, what that's _really_ like and he's grateful to say she doesn't appear to be in such a way now.

"June."

She flinches, jumpy as ever, and grabs at her chest. She's shaking her head, apologizing as she starts to lower her head, but he's by her side and lifting it before she can turn away.

His other hand finds the remote, snaking his hand around her to reach it, and switches the screen off.

"Don't watch that," he pleads, and she's already tearing up.

He hates this.

Every day seems to be the same routine. He's in an office all day each day, answering questions for files and documenting the experiences and processing the correct forms. There's so much shit to shift through and every time he motions to push for more benefits and less restrictions on the team, he's handed a wave of more paperwork that needs to be approved and filled out and he's starting to suspect Waller is simply drawing up new forms each day to put off his motions. And when she runs out of paper work, there's always a new mission to be performed and then filed.

And each day he returns to catch June enveloped in some reminder of the past one way or another. Sometimes she's thrashing in a nightmare and he has to shake her awake. Other times she's reading an article, or like tonight watching a broadcast, and he wonders if the news will ever stop discussing Midway and trying to delve into what really happened. Waller cleaned up as much as she could, but the families of those lost always demand justice and not all of them accept Waller's checks for silence.

And a check, even if it _had_ been offered, wouldn't stop June's nightmares.

He settles her back into the bed. The sheets are stiff and he hates living out of a hotel that Waller holed them up in. Even with the threat of June's…counterpart gone, they're still being monitored and seemingly controlled by Waller. Rick's loyalty for Waller wains a little bit every time he sees June struggling to make this apartment more homely.

Pulling the comforter to her shoulders, Rick smiles when June grabs his hand and asks quietly for him to stay nearby. She doesn't ask him to stay until she falls asleep—that could be hours. He'll do it anyway, but she makes it clear he's welcome to leave just…just not immediately. He shrugs, claiming he's had a long day too and is tired. He throws off his shoes and doesn't bother undressing any more than that, simply throwing himself under the comforter next to her. They leave the nightstand light on. She tries to mutter something, an apology most likely, but he cuts her off.

"Remember that night in New Mexico? When I brought up that bottle of wine, after you'd done that demonstration for Waller?" It's vague. There were lots of demonstrations for Waller; for government officials and for scientists, and for tests and for questioning and for missions and capability testing—there had also been lots of wine bottles, but New Mexico had been the first.

June smiles, weakly but it's a smile and Rick loves it. "You told me about your dad…"

Rick smiles further as the memory runs its course, "And you asked if I was ever gonna kiss you or not."

He'd nearly kissed her lots of times before then. After months of being forced into close proximity, and months of being forced to be the first response and security detail, Rick had had plenty of opportunities to kiss June. Plenty of moments he could have stolen her lips—whether anyone had been around or not—but he'd always chosen not to act on his impulse. He was trained that way, and damn it if she had just been any less playful or pretty or smart or brave. If he'd never seen June Moone and only ever known that devilish entity, Enchantress, and never gotten to know the girl that witch possessed. Then maybe he'd never have kissed her.

But she asked him—more like challenged him—and he hadn't held back. He'd given in finally and he'd kissed her.

Rick doesn't wait for her to ask this time. He leans in and kisses her. And maybe she's forgetting, slowly, about the news because she loosens up and she wraps her hands around his neck and he pulls himself on top of her. For a while, they forget the past few months, and the news, and all his paperwork, and this stupid apartment and that damn witch, and they're not a soldier and his mark. They're just in love.

* * *

Young adults file from the lecture hall, gathering books and bags. No one is smiling or happily contemplating the weekend. It's a Wednesday and they're all fretting over tomorrow's test because of course their professor would be adding new material the day before the test. And how do you take notes on opinions and speculations instead of facts? The entire hall is, albeit emptying, filled with hopeful young minds that are unified in regretting taking this class that sounded fun in theory but has been nothing but theory as it would turn out.

One student fails to notice the shifting of the crowd in front of him and shoulders someone heading towards the front of the classroom rather than exiting. He mumbles a sorry but his victim doesn't acknowledge him or the shoulder brush. His book opens slightly and papers titled _Ancient Civilization Cult in Myth & Death_ fall to the floor and he's groaning because that's to that person he's now stuck in this room for a few more seconds than he ever wanted picking up his notes.

The figure is still making her way to the front of the room where a balding man is gathering his own papers and notes—he's the only smiling face in the room, and rather enjoyed the lecture from today.

Mostly because he gave it.

"Dr. Faust?" The irony of his name doesn't escape her, but that tale is just a myth. She's not here for myths. "My name is Amanda. I called your office earlier to set an appointment..?"

"Ah, yes, Ms. Amanda…Walton?"

"Waller," she corrects.

"Yes! Ms. Waller, I'm truly grateful you were so interested in my article—it is rare to find someone as eager to back a man in my profession of studying the occult-"

"Flattered, I'm sure. I, and my associates, are _very_ interested in your studies of the cultists of _Brujeria_ , in South America..? Particularly, your writings on not only their ritualistic behavior and beliefs, but of the entities of Incubus and his sister. You wrote of them not as gods, but entities with less in common with a _human_ and..?"

The professor nodded furiously. "Y-yes, I mean…by all accounts, these were powerful deities with more capabilities than a meta-human has _ever_ shown and I think, where at their core of DNA a meta-human is still a _human_ …I believe the theory that the lesser 'Gods' of ancient civilizations, such as the siblings you mentioned, were in fact more _similar_ to that perceived notion than being human…"

"Particularly in regards to death?"

The man shrugged, suddenly rather nervous. This woman was terrifying.

"Yes…again, they appeared to be more… _manifestations_ of magic than they were human…Being human is, ah, _implied_ and theorized to mean having a soul and consciousness…to be living. Deities like the siblings I believe can't be killed, more so than say… in theory, again, _returned_ to a state or place, possibly dimension- It's all here in my notes, ah-"

"Bring them with us."

"I'm _sorry_? Where are we go-"

"It's classified. Don't worry. Your classes have been cancelled for the next week."

A student in the back of the hall, who had been distracted first by his fallen notes and later by an email alert, suddenly cheered loudly as his inbox informed him his test tomorrow had been cancelled. Only the professor looked horrified towards the student.

* * *

He'd gone over the binder a hundred times. There were plenty of pictures of a smart, happy, daring young woman scattered throughout it. A brief enough summary of her past, her upbringing—just the basics. She was normal. Only child, college education through her PhD, a routine yearly trip to some location for spelunking or a dig site or the occasional, rare vacation for the sake of vacationing. No current or recent relationship, no next of kin known. Mid-twenties, bright eyes…

Then the binder devoted the rest of its contents to speculation and theory; to myth and stories and legend; nothing hard, nothing factual. He'd skimmed those parts—he needed facts.

Fact was that the house had scattered bodies throughout its floors. He led the team, charging forward on point. Waller had sent him here to retrieve his mark. He was expecting a smart, happy, young woman. Or, he expected the witch.

Instead, he found a scared, traumatized victim lying in a pool of muck and blood. A swamp inside a bathroom, adorned with hex symbols and vegetation that had grown in a matter of minutes but looked as if it'd been untouched. It was sorcery.

And she had been _so_ scared.

"Help me," had been the first words he'd heard, and here he was expecting someone _happy_. (The pictures had shown her with such confidence—even the witch herself would have been a less shocking sight for him to barge in on than a high-level threat associated to the body of this frail and frightened girl)

He thought his target was Dr. June Moone, a capable archeologist who had been possessed by the Enchantress. His target had been the shell of Dr. June Moone—the scared, pale and naked leftovers of a woman who should've gone mad with the entity sharing her mind and body.

Rick remembers pulling her from the tub. Screw protocol of apprehending with precaution the target—he had to stop thinking of her as such. She was a person.

He'd covered her with his jacket and they'd led her out of that house. Away from the carnage, the death and the wake of the Enchantress.

And the whole time he'd thought back to seeing her for the first time, and her begging for help. Waller expected him to take her out, if they ever felt she couldn't be contained.

He couldn't…

Except that's what Waller had _really_ wanted—she knew he couldn't take June out, or the Enchantress—she'd been betting on it.

The whole time, June was supposed to take _him_ out.

* * *

" _Enchantress_."

The shadows engulf her in a swift motion and she seems to stretch, to relax and feel the power surge over her, as Enchantress settles back into power and possession.

This is a dream.

Rick knows it is because it's a recurring one that he's had for over a month now. It morphs from his reminiscence. The house and the tub and the scared June disappear, replaced by… he never knows where. Are they outside, because it's so bright? But it's cold, like air conditioning steadily breathing on them, and he can't feel the heat of a sun or light source. Except he stops worrying where they are when June's brief smile turns to horror and as if she can't control her own words, her lips part and she breathes that terrible name.

And then June is gone and the dark, shadowy figure of Enchantress is in front of Rick. Except it's not the filthy witch he was so accustomed to over the course of his observing her. She's the goddess this time, standing before her ray of light and metal, twitching and fluidly moving as if casting incantations, and her hands twist and seem to draw symbols and runes while her eyes stare piercingly at him.

"She's gone." She repeats, over and over with bursts of laughter between her words. The voice is so foreign, so aged and majestic and it's not June. It's not June's voice. "Your precious, weak June…she's _never_ coming back."

He hears the words so frequently when he closes his eyes, yet the pain always returns at the thought of how true they almost rang. For that brief moment when he believed her, the Enchantress, when she told him June was gone. When his greatest fear came true and he had to choose destroying the Enchantress, living out June's last request to him, and he'd honestly believed June was gone.

But, he reminds himself she _did_ come back to him. Just like she will this time, whenever he wakes.

As if reading his thoughts, Enchantress snarls and the scene changes and he's at June's side, but unable to move, as doctors declare her time of death and begin to clear the table. It's like watching a memory, even if it's never come true, and Rick hates it.

He breaks down, no matter how many times he relives this nightmare, and he's calling out her name—please, please _, please June, don't…._

The dream ends abruptly this time, however. Something is different.

It hits him, literally, again when a hand smacks his nose. He briefly feels the pain run through his face before it dawns on him exactly what and why.

June is thrashing beside him, whimpering out for 'Enchantress' and 'brother'.

June is an only child.

Rick tries shaking her but the nightmare has its clutches on June. She's still twisting and whipping under the sheets, damp with sweat.

"June! June, _stop_. It's a dream! _June_!"

June's moaning gets louder, as if the nightmare is trying to drown out his voice. Rick straddles June, trying to pin her arms down to stop her from warding him off.

" _It hurts…Incubus_ …"

Rick hesitates for a moment.

"June? June, _what_ hurts?"

June's hands continue to struggle in Rick's grasp, but her back arches and she continues calling for Incubus. Rick, confused, shakes his head at June despite her inability to see him.

"June, wake up! June, this isn't you! You're not Enchantress anymore! She's not a part of you, June! _June_?!"

"… _Rick_ …"

It's his name escaping her moans that stir him to try harder in waking her. Her releases her arms only to grip her head, steadying her. He throws himself at her, kissing her passionately to silence her cries. June seems to freeze before blinking her eyes awake. She pushes Rick off herself, gasping for air.

"June? June, are you alright?!" Rick is back by her, gripping her shoulders against him. June is shaking her head, rubbing at her chest.

"It was awful, I…I felt this pain in my chest…My heart felt on fire, it felt…" she looked terrified, straight into Rick's eyes, "I couldn't breathe. My lungs were filled with water o-or cement, and my heart was on fire…A-and he kept calling out my name?! Incubus—he was in the dream! But, he wasn't calling for Ench-chantress…he was calling for me!"

Rick shakes his head, adamant it was a dream. "He's gone. She's gone. It's just you and me. I'm the only other one here, and you're safe. June, you're safe now."

June wants to, but doesn't, believe him.

Something is stirring, and even now her heart feels as if it's not burning, but rather being crushed.

* * *

"One phone call and I'm out of here."

That was always his threat. He hated it. He hated being her dog, loyal and abiding. He stood by while she climbed over people to get where she wanted to be. She'd throw anyone under a bus, except him. No, she needed him. To clean up the bodies she left behind, it seemed.

And this was just another straw to add to his pile of finals.

This damn misfit team of criminals. Of scumbags with no morals or boundaries. They were thugs with too much power.

She scoffs, throwing the phone down at him.

"Go ahead. You know the deal. As soon as you leave, your lady goes on a table and pumped full of drugs."

It's a wonder she's not on the team. She's just as much a thug drunk on power as they are.

* * *

Rick looks between the two brands of packaged Parmesan cheese. He doesn't see a difference, and he doubts he'd taste one either, but he knows June specifically asked for one over the other. He shakes the memory from his head, trying to focus on the task at hand. He weighs the options, hesitant at which to add to the cart, but is stopped by a hand snaking over his arm and reaching for the cheese on the right. He turns and smiles as June greets him with a kiss, adding the cheese and her own chore item to the basket.

"Are you sure take out is out of the question?"

Rick frowns.

"I _can_ cook."

June smiles and walks off, leading them to the counter. Rick doesn't recognize half of the ingredients that June snuck into their basket, and is too busy trying to figure out how to even pronounce one when he overhears the cashier reiterating his question to June.

"Would you like to donate to the Midway City refuge fund, Ma'am?"

Rick quickly looks between the cashier and June, who is frozen. Rick steps up quickly, handing his card over and nudging June to worry about the bags.

"Sure, sure—we'll donate. Pick any amount, it's fine."

He continues to glance at June, who suddenly appears lifeless and distracted. He thanks the cashier and rushes June and the groceries out as if they're being followed and are trying to lose a tail.

Back home, after a silent car ride, June sits herself at the small breakfast table. Rick sighs, unpacking, and notices how dull the apartment looks, for perhaps the fifth time just that afternoon.

"What if we bought a house."

June looks up suddenly.

"Where?"

Rick shrugs.

"Here."

June scoffs.

"On whose pension? We don't even know how long we'll be _here_ …"

"Well, alright then. Pick where you want to go."

"What?"

Rick shrugs, moving to sit in the chair next to June. He takes her hand in his own. "Pick a city, a country. Anywhere in the world, as long as it ain't Communist."

June smiles but shakes her head slowly.

"You have a job here-"

"-and I can find another. You're cooped up in here all day…if you're going to be on house arrest, it should be somewhere… _homey_."

"I'm not on house arrest…" June argues softly, rising to continue with the groceries. "I went grocery shopping just now, didn't I?"

Rick rolls his eyes, stepping up to follow June. His hands reach out and stop her own from shifting through the bags. He turns her to face him, smiling mischievously.

"Waller's nearly done with me. She's definitely done with you. She ain't your boss anymore. You get to be your own boss—work wherever you want again finally. Maybe teach at a college, or fund an expedition…Your life is yours again, June. And you're not going to have to spend it any longer living in this shithole," Rick motioned around them. "This was only ever supposed to be temporary. So, pick anywhere and that's where we'll go."

June slowly smiles, allowing herself to imagine a fantasy where she's free of Enchantress and she's free with Rick and they're living in a home that isn't bare-walled or covered in runes.

And maybe her fantasy isn't very creative because a younger her would find this settled life boring so then she tries envisioning another adventure, one that doesn't end in possession, except it doesn't matter where or what because Rick is there and then she realizes this fantasy is a reality. She throws her arms around Rick's neck and kisses him, repeating his words to him, "anywhere."

"Anywhere."

She laughs, repeating it again only for him to reiterate and then laugh at her.

The groceries are forgotten and for a few moments her past doesn't haunt her and her future excites her.

* * *

"…sleeping with that murderous _bitch_ -"

Today hadn't started off great, and it'd only been getting worse.

This is Rick's reasoning as he throws a left hook at the recruit who'd dared to bad mouth June, however low under his breath, with Rick in the room. Other soldiers and government personnel looked on, but none stepped in to stop Rick. Some sided with him, some feared him, and one in particular still believed, because they were new and had been pranked by the others, that Rick's girlfriend was still possessed by the witch enough that she could curse you.

The soldier falls to the ground, hitting it hard, and curses as Rick stands then, breathing heavily and waiting for the other to stand back up.

It'd been a week since June had first had her nightmare, and every night since she'd had it again. Every time Rick thought they were making a breakthrough and finally starting to let go the horrors the witch had brought them- and June in particular- there seemed to be a new reminder. Rick himself had been having nightmares, but they were new ones for the most part. Ones where a mission goes wrong and it's him staring death in the face, only for the scene to change and yet again June is on that metal gurney, being declared dead.

They always ended the same, no matter how the dreams started.

And another break-out interview on the news had broken this morning of someone stepping forward who claimed the government was covering up something 'much bigger and more alien' in the Midway City attack, claiming he'd found remnants of human DNA in a demented and perverted body that he'd found underground. Of course, the media was trying to spin him a madman, as no such 'alien-bodies' were released to the public when the city had been cleared to return to.

The man was right, though.

But all this coverage had done was stir up office talk and someone had built up enough confidence and stupidity to yell at Flag to vent their own frustration. He'd blamed the attack on the government, which he worked for, and however little informed the grunt was, he'd known enough that Flag and his Taskforce criminals had been involved—he had enough clearance for that, unfortunately. And while Flag hated hearing the stupid, senseless opinions of everyone else garnered towards his team, he also knew only he knew anyone of them on a remotely personal level, and that it was a waste to try to argue that those criminals had more bravery and honor than the entire room.

But then he'd stepped one step too far and tried calling Flag out by dragging June into his insults.

And Rick hadn't felt a damn bit of regret punching the asshole.

"Flag, break it up."

It's Waller and Rick barely glances back to acknowledge her entering the room.

"Stand down, Colonel. Your mission briefing is downstairs. The rest of you, I suggest pretend to do something. Not all of you have to be on the payroll to keep things around here functioning and the more you remind me of that fact, the more I might actually look into it and trim off the fat."

" _Rick_."

Rick freezes, turning slowly. Everyone has to double take at the woman entering behind Amanda Waller, but the whispers spread and soon everyone is aware the former vessel of Enchantress is standing before them all.

The man at Rick's feet staggers to stand, but all his smack talking and degrading comments are caught in his throat. Rick ignores everyone, stepping directly up to June.

"June? What is she doing here?" He asks, rather angrily, turning his attention to Waller. June flinches slightly, but Waller looks as if debating whether Rick even deserves a response. She owes him none.

"I summoned her here. We have issues to discuss. Your account isn't the only word that can be taken."

"I'm coming with her."

"No, you're not." Waller is annoyed. "Your briefing is downstairs, as I said. Dr. Moone, come along."

June looks helplessly at Rick, but he grabs her arm.

"S-she showed up at the apartment…she said I had to come in, I-I'm sure it's nothing," June is assuring herself more so than Rick. He's shaking his head, still ignoring the stares.

" _Don't_. Whatever she wants, you owe them nothing. _Don't go_ -"

"Dr. Moone."

June hesitates, but suddenly another security detail stands behind her, trying to intimidate her to follow after Waller. Rick straightens as if to throw another punch, but June quickly steps after Waller.

"I'll be fine," she whispers, still timid in the appearance of others. Rick clenches his fists and watches her glance occasionally back at him before Waller leads her behind a closed door.

Rick glares at the others watching and they all quickly return to their work. Begrudgingly, he makes his way downstairs for his mission briefing.

* * *

" _Am_ I necessary?" June questions, horrified at Waller's proposition.

"You're an expert. We're seeking your knowledge on the matter. This isn't about you demonstrating your powers. You don't have any anymore. We simply want you to observe and analyze. Your knowledge of not only the ancient archeology, but also your time spent possessed by the Enchantress, make you very necessary in this conversation. If we're to prepare ourselves for an attack like this again, we need every bit of insight."

June shakes her head.

"I-I told you, I don't remember whenever...Enchantress was in control. I don't know _what_ she did or _where_ she would go…" June spoke quietly, biting her lip at the mention of Enchantress' name.

"That's not true."

June's breathing catches.

"You controlled for the most part _when_ you would become her. And even if you didn't have control when she possessed you, don't you think you had an influence on her?"

"I-I'm sorry..?"

"I've read the reports. _Extensively_. Your minions-"

"Th-they weren't mine…they were hers…"June counters weakly.

"-kept coming after Colonel Flag. Why would they try to kill everyone…but bring him to you? I'm sorry… _her_."

June is nervous, glancing around at the walls. It's for once not comforting at all reminding herself Rick is in the building, just below her. Being alone with Waller makes her feel like she's in another dimension.

"I-I don't-"

"The night Enchantress summoned her brother…doesn't it take you calling her forth for her to possess you?"

"I talked in my sleep. Ri-Colonel Flag told you as much in his report-"

"So if all it took to stop Enchantress from ever appearing was cutting your tongue out, why do you think we never did that?"

June's breathe hitches. "You needed her power…"

"Because that is just a word, Dr. Moone. Enchantress has ways of appearing, and it doesn't take asking her to come out nicely to do it. She possessed you, Dr. Moone. She had a hold on your mind, even when she didn't. We needed her power, and I'm not ashamed to say we still need it, but how powerful would she have been if all it took was a word to draw that power out?" Waller straightens her back, changing her tone suddenly. "You're a professional archeologist, are you not? PhD and everything." Waller slams a file on the desk.

"So was it her, calling out to you and enticing you that made you break the artifact? Or did you have a lapse in judgement and snapped it yourself? You spoke in your sleep, you say? So, you subconsciously wanted to unleash Enchantress. You wanted to _feel_ that power?"

"That's not—that isn't what happened…" June steps back slightly, hitting the wall, unaware of how close she was standing to it and how far from Waller she'd been.

"Was it your own thrill seeking that lead you to that temple in the jungle, or the pull of Enchantress? Colonel Flag's reports don't say."

"Y-you have all my files, my interviews…I spent months telling you everything I knew. You have the video, the tests…I have nothing new to say or add to my accounts of my time as Enchant…-tress's vessel…There's no need for me to be at this hearing or debate or…whatever it is you're organizing." June felt a slight anger rise in her; enough courage to counter Waller. "You don't need me."

"But Flag does."

June feels the hair on her neck rise.

"Excuse me?"

"He admitted as much. He loves you, doesn't he? Do you love him?"

"Y-yes…" June admits, but immediately questions why she shared such personal information.

"How strongly do you love him? Because he loved you enough that losing you would have destroyed him. It's why he watched you for so long and dedicated his entire career to keeping you safe. It's why he abandoned his mission and instead tried to save you in Midway. And even now, he still goes on missions so that I don't incriminate you for the crimes committed by Enchantress. For all those lives you took…How do you live with yourself, Dr. Moone?" Waller adds like an afterthought.

June's voice caught in her throat.

"They call them the Suicide Squad…But he's going on the same dangerous, no-win scenario missions as them…There's a chance he'll walk out that door and not make it back."

June felt the sting of tears but blinked them back. She clenched her fists, shaking her head.

"You won't manipulate me like that anymore…I'm not your puppet any longer, and neither is he."

"Colonel Flag is still employed under my service. He could apply for a transfer, even if and when he stopped caring for you…but I could just as easily have him assigned to the frontlines of war. Or worse—demote him so far in martial court that he'll be a night guard at a museum exhibit. Will he forgive you for that, when he won't even be able to forgive the country he swore to serve?"

June continued shaking her head, "You can't threaten us anymore-"

"-But I can. And I am. See, when I concocted this Taskforce X, and after I found your reports and the others…I needed someone to lead you all, but someone whose loyalty I could buy for myself. I don't believe anyone will ever follow another living soul willingly without leverage. Colonel Flag was top of his class, highly recommended and loyal to his country. But he had a weakness, and I exploited it. How was he, a straight arrow, supposed to resist pitying and then _falling_ for the tragic case that you were. And then that was it-he was loyal to you."

June freely is crying now, still defiantly shaking her head. Her eyes are on the floor, refusing to stare at the woman insulting her; tearing her down and attacking the insecurities and fears she bore.

"You two fell in love and you both thought it was fate but it wasn't. It was me. And then I had you both monitored and I baited my time. Sure enough, when he came to me _demanding_ for me to loosen that leash on you, I just had to tighten the one on him. Your part isn't over just because Enchantress is gone, Dr. Moone. You've merely been diverted to another use. Do this, and maybe I'll even add some vacation days to Colonel Flag's holiday. You both can go spelunking in the Amazon. Just try not to get possessed again."

Waller walks coldly past June, stopping in the opened doorway.

"We'll leave tonight. I'm not asking. I never was."

When Waller leaves, June throws her hands to her face, furiously clearing it of tears.

* * *

When she does finally turn to leave the room, it's only to run into Rick.

He grabs her instantly, "Hey, are you alright? What'd she want?"

June clears her throat, trying to find her voice.

"Just a talk…she wants me to come with her to some retreat. Some scientists and such in the profession of the occult…she wants me to talk about my experience-" June waves her hands about, trying to not make eye contact. Rick will read the swelling and redness of her eyes…

"-June, you don't have to do that anymore. She has no need for you, she has _all_ she needs. Don't go, alright? You don't owe her _anything_ -"

 _When he came to me demanding for me to loosen that leash on you, I just had to tighten the one on him._

"No-No, I'll go. Rick, it's fine." June tried to assure him. "It's just a talk. I can handle this."

"I don't like it…June, don't do this…"

 _How strongly do you love him?_

"I'll be back and that'll be it. I promise, it'll be fine."

Rick hated it, but slowly nodded.

"When is it?"

"I leave tonight."

He sucked in air.

"I have a mission in the morning. I can't come with you—she's doing this on purpose," he accuses.

 _There's a chance he'll walk out that door and not make it back._

June shook her head, "its fine! You just…come back safe, alright? Please?"

Rick nodded slowly, but the thought echoed in his own head. He didn't like that Waller needed anything else from June—hadn't she already gotten all she needed out of the girl?

"Let's pick up another bottle of wine when we both get back, what do you say?"

Mischievous, and with a light renewed in her eyes, Rick finally relaxed as June smiled. God, he loved her smile.

June bit back all her concerns and tried drowning out the echoes of Waller's words. She was so adamant on having June there at this meeting. She'd been vague at what she really needed June to discuss or report on. A feeling in her gut gave her a creeping apprehension, but she instead gripped Rick's hand tighter, trying to focus on him and being with him before he had to leave for his mission.

A mission he may not come back from.

* * *

" _Hey_. Hey, Waller."

Waller clicks her heels to a stop and urns slowly to face the approaching Colonel. He looks irritated—angry—and far behind him she spots Dr. Moone standing at the entrance to the parking garage, looking scared and timid as usual. Shame, Waller thinks, remembering the testimonies and accounts of her character from before the possession.

"What do you want June for? She's not the Enchantress anymore, you don't need her-"

"I determine who and for what I need. Not you, Colonel. The only decisions you make are whether to say ' _yes ma'am'_ or ' _yes, sir'_ after I've given you your orders. _Now_ isn't one of those times."

Flag's chest rises, and his voice lowers, "You don't need her. She can't offer you anythin'."

"On the contrary," Waller interrupts, stepping closer to Flag, "She's exactly what I need. Now, as you can see, I am capable of making my decisions—just like I said I was." Turning to leave, Waller is further annoyed when Flag throws out one final threat, "Leave her _alone_."

She inhales deeply, once again slowly turning back to face Flag.

"To what extent do we know of the Enchantress and her powers? No one before had ever destroyed the heart, so how is an untested theory to be trusted on a one trial test as the absolute fact? How do we know that by destroying her heart, Enchantress is just gone. What if Dr. Moone still has some lasting residual effect of magic? What if Enchantress is merely putting on an illusion, and Dr. Moone has been dead this whole time? Do you even know, for certain, if you fell in love with Dr. Moone herself? Or a projection of Enchantress. You're right. I don't need Dr. Moone. I don't need her in th state she's in, because if I feel any of these concerns are viable, then I can have her locked in Belle Reye back on that table, pumped full of drugs and dissected on regularly. I don't need her in anything more than a catatonic state. But I'm allowing her to walk around, _freely_ accompanied by yourself. I don't even have to send her away, if you'd rather have it that way. I can just send you away. You can be replaced by any trained monkey to watch her, and I'll make sure you never see her again. For all I know, Enchantress could have you under a spell, and that would make you a liability to the mission. The mission that has always been observe and detain. So maybe I do need her. I just don't need you."

Waller straightens her jacket and cocks her head slightly.

"Will that be all, Colonel?"

Flag's face is cold and unblinking, but his breathing gives away his anger.

"Yes, Ma'am."

* * *

"Dr. Moone, meet Dr. Faust."

June tried smiling, but she'd felt nervous and sick the entire flight. It was rather early in the morning and June hadn't slept well in the hotel.

Without Rick, she'd been left to thrash in her nightmare until it had run its course and abruptly shaken her awake with screams. She'd felt the cold, crawling feeling of Enchantress overtaking her body, and then she'd felt like she was suffocating and had awoken screaming out for Incubus. When her consciousness had returned wholly to her, she'd reached out to her phone immediately. It was futile, trying to call and get ahold of Rick. But, she'd done so nonetheless, and she'd left a message, hoping she'd see him before long and this nightmare of separation and anxiety would be over.

"Rick, I…it's me. I'm here and it's early, at least where I am. I don't know where you are, but…a-anyway, I was just calling in…in hopes I'd hear your voice. But, that's stupid and I'll see you soon enough…alright, well…I hope you're safe and alright and, yeah, I'll wait and see you again soon. I've been thinking about what you said; about anywhere…I might actually hold you to it. How's your Italian? I love you, Rick…"

The drive to this facility had been several hours and she now realized it was in the middle of nowhere. Still, she smiled and accepted Faust's hand. He looked as nervous as she felt, doggedly looking between Waller and June. Waller ignored him and motioned them all inside.

The facility was an average, white-walled base with hardly anyone inside. A few people shuffled by and disappeared down halls.

Faust nodded a quick goodbye, awkwardly, and left the two women.

June watched after him as he rushed down a hall, while Waller lead her, and her alone, towards another hall.

"Dr. Faust is a professor of the culture of myths and legends, depicted through symbols and literature. He specializes in those tales of the Western hemisphere, particularly, and I happened across an article of his recently. See, he has a fascinating stance on the existence of entities like Enchantress and her brother. He has a strong sense that they're less like humans or even living beings at all—he equates them to be more like conscious magic. And that said, he doesn't think they're capable of death."

Waller opened a door ahead of June, again motioning for her to step inside. June felt a lump rise in her throat.

"He believes Enchantress isn't dead?"

Waller nodded as if this news was obvious. June was horrified.

"B-but her heart was _destroyed_. She left my body, her spirit is…is gone?!"

Waller kept walking. The room before them was a large hanger garage, clearly at the back of the facility. Only half of it was lit, and Waller was walking deeper towards the back where light wouldn't reach. Hesitantly, June followed.

"She was separated from you and without a heart, Faust theorizes, she was no longer bound to this dimension. But, Faust, and some colleagues of his, have theorized how Enchantress first came to this world. Even had she been born a meta-human, she hadn't come out of her mother's womb with that heart in her hands. No, somehow it was created and her spirit and magic had been bound to it. Someone had summoned that magic to our dimension with a heart…And Faust thinks it can be done again."

June shook her head.

"M-magic casters like that…they don't exist."

"I would've thought so, too, except I saw Enchantress with my own two eyes. I've seen plenty of things with my own eyes that make me believe just about anything is possible. Including the idea that a witch that powerful can be summoned again. And with the right resources, you can find the 'impossible'.

You're her vessel. She called for you—that, I believe, _was_ fate. This ritual wouldn't work without you."

June is horrified, realizing the trap that's been set for her. She turns to walk out, but silently filing in behind her are robed figures. She jumps, looking around as they encircle her. Waller stands ahead of her, her back to June, and she continues on as if nothing has changed and the circle entraps June.

"You saw what she did…She almost killed you! And you want that thing _back_?!"

"That _thing_ has power. A power we could control this time."

"How?! You don't even know if you can summon her back—she's _gone_!"

"She's gone from this dimension…but she still lives. Do you mean to say you can, without a doubt, tell me that you haven't felt traces of her magic in you? Traces of her influence, or presence? If there is an afterlife, if there is a heaven and hell, then Dr. Moone, you can bet that that witch is in hell and if she's in hell then she can be dragged _back_ from it."

June feels tears again forming. Tears of betrayal and anger.

"You can't bring her back. You don't know how."

"You met Dr. Faust, and his colleagues you recall I mentioned? I don't have to know how. _They_ do."

Matches are lit and flicker in their hands. June makes the mistake of looking down, noticing in the flickering light in this dimmed portion of the hanger, that dark runes and symbols had been marked ahead of time in the floor. June tries turning once again to escape, ready to fight her way out of the crowd if necessary, but a force slams her down as a muffled chanting began around her.

"You're mad!" June proclaimed. "You can't control her! You know that! Don't bring her back, even if you can!"

"If it can be done, it will be. If not by me, by some lunatic thinking they can change the world. I'm saving it. You're the most qualified applicant to host Enchantress."

"You're a monster!"

"No, Doctor. _That_ would be you."

The chanting increases and Waller stares blankly at the ceremony. June feels something rising in her stomach and starts to scream, trying to drown out the chants. The cultists ignore her, raising their hands in unison.

Tears fall from June's eyes to the stained ground, and she knows it's useless. A gravity pulls at her and binds her to the ground like a weight, but only she is affected. Even the cultists jump slightly, amazed by their ritual's success. June feels the cold shivers and senses something inevitably coming.

She can't speak—her throat is hot and clouded. She thinks of Rick, and her false promise that everything would be fine. Tears keep streaming out and when she feels that all too familiar force overcome her, her last thoughts are of Rick, and of how foolish she'd been for even momentarily thinking they could have had a normal life anywhere in the world.

She whispers out " _Help me_ ," picturing Rick's face, and in the same breath, " _Enchantress_."

* * *

 _Science and vision_

 _Be near when I call your name_

* * *

 **A/N:** So, the title of this story is a CHVRCHES album, and every chapter henceforth will be titled after a song from that album-cause that's a thing I do and I'm comfortable with it~ That said, I've for the most part planned this story out and it runs not too long but I'm hoping to get all the chapters out rather quickly~ here's to hoping...

So the Squad does have a larger role in this story and they all get introduced early in the next chapter, but I really wanna hit home that this is a Flagmoon ship (Gosh, I love that ship name) so it was important to have the first chapter follow mainly just them. There's some scattered flashbacks for really no other purpose than for me to have the details and quotes written down before I forget (Except I'm planning on seeing this movie again this week with a friend so...I'm serious, I loved this movie!); I'm also trying to be accurate, but again I'm rushing this fic out so some plot points prlly need some suspension of disbelief.

I really wanted this fic to show off more of June's character, cause in the movie she's mainly possessed by Enchantress every scene and when she isn't her lines are just apologies, but Cara, the actress, has said in interviews that June has a adventurous and thrill-seeking side and I can see that-I mean, her intimate moments with just Flag made her out to be way more comfortable and confident than when she's around everyone else...Anyway, I say all this, but literally by the end of Chapter one I have her as Enchantress again-There will be more June in the coming chapters, and also it's comic canon that Enchantress keeps being killed or banished only to return~

Flag's character is also kinda hard to right, cause he's a hard ass most of the time; real serious, he even puts up with Waller and her heartlessness...except when he didn't. There are looks and some lines he says but only ever about or to June that reveal yeah, he's a guy capable of falling deeply in love and he just wants to protect June, like ugh my heart tightens just thinking 'bout it...

Dr. Faust is another comic nod, as is the cult he's hinted at being a part of, but neither will be a huge deal much after just this first chapter and also please don't hate me for misusing them.. I could say so much more about this movie and this fic, but this is a long enough afterthought so I'll hold my piece for the next chapter.

Hope a part of this story was enjoyable if you read this far and I'll update probably soon (I stayed up all night just to race to rush this) and really, I'm just looking forward to more Flagmoon stories...


	2. Lies

Thank you everyone who read the first chapter and especially reviewers-ya'll are lovely! I'm not promising every update will be within a day-I'm just on a super high with this movie and couple and I currently have just free time so I'm spending like every waking moment typing a chapter...so...

Disclaimer: I own nothing and the chapter/story titles are from the same-name album by CHVRCHES and there's still the sporadic language but I don't think it ever gets too harsh...This story isn't coming across too dark, in my eyes, but if anyone thinks the rating isn't appropriate at any point in this story let me know! Hopefully I don't offend anyone with Harkness' accent...Cause if there's anything Harkness isn't, it's offensive :p Anyway...

Hope you enjoy this chapter! This chapter is still kind of set-up...I want to promise this story super picks up next chapter, but I think actually it's chapter four where the story picks up completely-these first three are serving as introductions.

Speaking of, there's some characters making their debut in this chapter! Hopefully I wrote them alright, and also-shout out to senpen banka * _winks_ * not this chapter, but...

* * *

 _I can sell you lies_

 _You can't get enough_

* * *

Floyd rubs at his ear, eyeing the wax gathered under his nail before begrudgingly looking down the line. The testosterone levels dramatically outweigh the estrogen without Harley, as only Katanna sits at the end of the plane, blatantly ignoring Harkness' whistles and hushed ' _hey's_. (Deadshot won't admit he misses the crazy lass)

The other side of the carrier sits Jones, grunting and snarling occasionally. He's miserable on flights and only barely is keeping his stomach contents down. The rest of the Seals quietly keep to themselves and avoid looking at any of the Taskforce members.

So, Floyd looks to the one man who will acknowledge him.

"How's the, uh, lady friend?"

Flag briefly looks at Deadshot, as if weighing whether to divulge in small talk, before answering bluntly, "She's good."

"Don't bullshit me. You put a ring on that yet or what? Ya'll fightin'?"

Rick frowns, but shakes his head.

"She just…had to be somewhere this morning."

Deadshot slowly nods his head.

"She packed and went to her mom's, didn't she? They always do that, y'know-"

He's cut off when the plane rumbles in the turbulence, inciting an impressed whistle from Harkness.

"The big man couldn' even afford a bird tha' ain't kept of scrap metal an' gum? Fantastic."

Killer Croc breaks his record of longest flight without incident by at least an hour, but the sudden shake stops the timer there and everyone groans with disgust when a half-eaten animal carcass empties onto the plane.

"That's nasty." Deadshot deadpans.

Flag is the only one without comment (and Katanna, who never reacts to anything after weeks of training to drown out Harkness' advances). His mind is back with June, wondering what Waller is up to and disliking every moment spent away from her.

"This mission ain't some, loike, surprise birthday party instea', would it?" Harkness asks suddenly. Everyone does turn to look at him, as if to ask how serious he believes that statement is as a contender for the truth.

"Why? Is it your birthday?"

"Well, now I'm just appalle' you dun't know when my birthday is. C'mon, you had that binder. It didn' say?"

Harkness suddenly sounds incredibly betrayed.

"Alright, drop is coming up," Flag announces. Katanna is up immediately and tugs at Digger to follow.

"Seriously, guys—I'm expectin' a cake an' everythin'! Or how 'bout just a _card_? Is that too much to ask fer? A card signed by all you and yer well wishes?"

"Your birthday is marked on my calendar at home. I got you diamonds."

"Now, that's thoughtful, that is. That's— _oi, wait_ , yer lyin'!"

" _Go_!"

One by one the plane is cleared. Flag stays as the last jumper, watching as parachutes set off below him. He tightens the strap at his chest and turns to glance one final look at the pilot, to signal a successful departure.

He's instead greeted by the figure of Enchantress.

It's a split second, but Flag jumps and Enchantress reaches towards him—not to catch his hand, but as if more to say something.

" _Help m_ -"

Then, she's gone. It's a mirage, he reminds himself—just a flash of lightning in this stormy night-just as he slips from the plane. He can't find his footing and at the last possible moment he thrusts his weight around to face the descent. Then, the plane disappears from under his feet and he's falling.

* * *

Dr. Faust is hysterical, breathing heavily at the sight before him.

Dr. June Moone no longer is crouched at his feet.

Instead, her body emits a cloud of shadow and dust, and her eyes are dark and hidden under a mass of black, matted hair. A light somehow catches in them, glimmering back like a fire. She looks weak, starved, and filthy. She's scantily clad, but the mud acts as a coating. She's curled on the runes on the floor. Faust's brethren are also amazed that the ritual worked, having never performed the feat before.

"She's…"

"Powerful." Waller interjects, crouching beside what Faust can only describe as a creature. "Or, she once was. She's weaker…how long will she last?"

Faust wipes at his brow, suddenly exhausted. "Without a heart, she's perishing in this world. In this seal, she's alive, like a…coma, I'd suppose. She'd perish if she left it."

There's a flicker in the lights and for a brief second Enchantress is gone—a mere blink of an eye, and then she's returned. Suddenly, she's gasping and hacking, in pain and writhing.

"What'd she just do?!" Faust yelps.

Waller curses. "She teleported. I thought you said she'd die if she left the seal?"

"She's weak a-and I don't know…" he shrugs, "she might be trying to gauge her powers…this ritual was only ever _written_ about, I-I've never seen it truly performed…we didn't know if we could _do_ this…"

"You did it. And now, you need to _keep_ doing it. Make her stronger—make her a heart. She _needs_ to be under control."

Faust can only nod, still amazed at his accomplishment. Enchantress, the very goddess he'd worshiped in secrecy, was at his feet before him. A powerful entity that couldn't die… She'd had to have been in another realm, Faust starts to hypothesize. He wants to ask her questions, wants to see the extent of her power, but…

But she's weak, and gasping—choking—and dying. He motions at his brothers to gather around, though some hesitate. None actually believed…and yet, here she…

"Keep the Enchantress alive," Faust cautions, and the brave ones who have stepped back into place nod in return of his sentiments. The chants begin again. She seems to look directly at him, through her suffering and gasping, and it's terrifying to make eye contact.

"She cannot be allowed to escape the circle again."

* * *

The hostages are important, but one in particular is a government official of some sort and that's their mission—get him out. Except no one, even amongst the criminals (alright, just Deadshot) feel too great about rescuing one silver spoon-fed sucker and leaving the rest at the mercy of terrorists in foreign soil. So, the mission is save everybody; Waller will just give them a pat on the back whether they save all the hostages or (a particular) one.

Deadshot sets his scope and twists the nozzle of the sniper locked.

"I've got a visual…six, seven…nine. There's nine guards outside, and at least three in the room with the hostages. What's the plan, Flag?"

Flag has been silent and jumbled since he regrouped with the others. Deadshot tried asking if he shit himself during the down, but he's starting to suspect something else spooked the soldier.

"Croc, you're with Beta squad. Round the back and clear an escape. The front is too open and I don't like the idea of leading everyone through a 100 meter gap of no coverage. Deadshot, you're eyes in the sky. Take out only the guards on my mark; let's try not to alert everyone we're here."

"Yeah, an' am I with Alpha then? Frontal assault, crashin' through the sides? Where we goin'?"

"Well, as I just told Deadshot we don't want to alert anyone we're here, you'll stay put next to Deadshot."

"C'mon, man, I'm stuck babysitting Boomerang over here?"

"Why can't _she_ watch me?" Harkness winks at Katanna.

"あなたは嫌です." Katanna mutters.

"Cause she'll kill you. Captain Boomerang, you're covering the front from the trees. If we're forced to exit through the front, you're our defense when we have no cover."

"Am I, what, _invisible_?"

"Will everyone be quiet for one damn second?!" Flag snaps. "Those are your orders. You wanna disobey them, be my guest. I'll call up Waller and you can be her problem. She likes controlling people-" It slips out and Flag doesn't mean to gripe, but Deadshot jumps on the opportunity.

"Alright. Playing that bomb card again, huh? Here I thought we were friends. Boomerang over here even invited you to his birthday party."

"C'mon, mate, you gotta stop jokin' bout it without confirmin' to me tha' you even know when it is. It's unfair, playing with a man's heart like tha'."

Again, he winks at Katanna, "Play as much as _you_ like, sweetheart."

Katanna unsheathes her blade.

"Enough! Boomerang, I won't even give Waller the chance to deal with you—I'll just let Katanna."

Captain Boomerang opens his mouth to respond.

"- _just don't_." Flag cut him off.

Flag turned his attention back to Deadshot.

"Do your part, and we all go home."

Deadshot nodded slowly, his eyes not looking at Flag.

"Alright, Flag. Lead the charge."

* * *

Flag took point, with four Seals behind him, night vision set.

In his com link, Flag hears Deadshot yawning.

"Not exciting enough for you, Lawton?"

"Honestly, _no_."

Two guards drop along the side of the building. Flag smirks. Deadshot is a damn impressive shot, and he isn't too proud to admit it.

He is, however, too aware of the sharpshooter's _ego_ to admit it.

"Croc, you in position?"

A growl is his answer.

"Seriously, guys, I can do somethin'…Ya could've left me back in me bunker if you weren't ginna use me at all…"

"Thought you'd wanna stretch your legs. Noted, however, that if the mission doesn't _specifically_ require your particular set of skills, we'll leave you behind."

"Guess this is your party, then, huh? Seeing is it's the last time we'll being seeing you."

"Agin, tha's not funny. I am expectin' a cake now. Preferably one Katanna pops out of when ya roll it out."

"She will _cut_ yo' ass," Deadshot mumbles before taking out two more guards when they'd reached a blind spot of the remaining five.

Flag signals the seals to prepare to move forward.

Two more guards drop, and soon after the third one drops.

Two left.

"If you can't make the shot, Deadshot, we're more than happy to pick up the slack."

The final two drop with one bullet.

"I can see why she left you, Flag."

Flag frowns, muttering outside the com link, " _She_ _didn't_ …"

* * *

When Croc snarls that the back is cleared, Flag and his men make the move. There's four men total in the room with the hostages, and Deadshot takes one out as Flag and his men make their entrance. It's quick and clean until Beta starts screaming in Flag's ear about back up and their escape route lights up.

"Get out of there! _Harkness_ , it's your lucky day! We're coming your way!"

"Aw, wait, wait, _wait_! I didn' think, wh-what with everyone…alright, _alright_! Get out here-"

Flag means to yell at Harkness for slacking, but in that moment he feels something collide with his head.

Flag drops amidst the screams of the hostages, ducking as more men pile in from back rooms. Deadshot is sending his support through the windows, and Katanna defends over Flag while the ringing settles in his ears. His vision blurs and he barely makes out that what hit him was a grenade. Katanna isn't kicking it away, but it isn't going off either. Flag squints, making out tiny specs of black dancing in his eyes, though they seem concentrated around the grenade.

"En _…chant…"_

Killer Croc busts through, and most of Beta follows him. Katanna is yelling at the hostages in Japanese.

Flag is still staring at the grenade.

Outside, two opposing men fall when a silver blur cuts across their throats.

Digger stands fifty yards in front of them, his arms wide as if to say, "lookit, I did something!"

Flag's picked from the ground like a sack of groceries by Croc. Flag honest to God smiles, but it's short lived as more bullets hail from the roof. Then, men start dropping and Deadshot's voice finally filters its way into Flag's head, his conscious returning as the fuzz and blurriness fades.

"Your welcome."

* * *

Croc is still practically carrying Flag across the clearing from the facility. Harkness, the quick and cowardly bastard, isn't venturing too far into the clearing, but provides a decent cover along with Deadshot to get the hostages into the trees. Katanna yells something in Japanese at Flag, who tries to focus enough to translate and yell back, "It doesn't matter! Get them _all_ to safety!"

Another grenade hits nearby and flares up. It's near enough that debris and dirt shower down on him and the others, but something's off. Another grenade is tossed, and Flag focuses his eyes and attention on it. It's sailing straight towards them, only to, in midair, be deflected, as if tossed, to the side.

There's the cover of night, but Flag swears the specks of black aren't just dirt or shadow. He recognizes their pattern, their sporadic behavior. And every time a flame goes up, he swears he hears yelling. It's muffled and combined—it's two voices, maybe three, he realizes. And it's faint and he maybe was hit too hard in the head, but he swears he hears the voices and he swears he recognizes them.

Once the group reaches the trees, the Seals bringing up the caboose, Flag finally pushes himself off of Croc to support himself. He turns to the first hostage nearest him—a woman—and tries to ask if everyone is accounted for.

But, she's hysterical and crying and can't answer him, so Flag turns to the next man.

"Is this everybody?"

The man glances around, terrified, and tries to count or nod—but there's a flicker in his eyes and for a second they're glowing. Flag rubs at his eyes. His mind is playing too many tricks and he feels faint. The man is yelling at him that yes, as far as he knows, this was everyone in the room.

Flag sways and suddenly he's on the ground.

* * *

"Bring back June!"

" _She's gone_." The witch taunts.

"You bring her back! Or I'll _crush_ this!"

He's holding the heart out. The witch is chuckling, disbelieving him.

Except this time she doesn't say anything. She just starts screaming. And he feels the earthy texture of the heart changing and when he looks closely at it, it's bleeding. It's a real, fleshed heart and blood oozes from his hands.

He wants to drop it, to cast the heart aside, but the screaming has frozen him; he's petrified. Because the witch isn't there anymore.

It's June.

Crouched in front of him, bare and horrified, is June, screaming and clutching her chest.

He's holding _her_ heart.

Rick instinctively crawls towards her, trying to offer the heart back—" _Take it_ , take it June! _June_!"—but June collapses, her eyes wide with fear and her hands still clutching weakly at her chest and at where her heart should be.

 _"It felt like…my heart was on fire. I couldn't breathe."_

June's words echo around him, and so does the screaming from the grenades. It's faint, but he knows that scream. Here, at the base of where the machine Enchantress created had been, surrounded by the Taskforce exactly as he remembered, it dawns on him.

That screaming, he knows those voices. Or, he thinks he does… There's definitely a connection.

And June's corpse is suddenly alive again, barely, with the dying Enchantress choking, begging, _"Help me!"_

Flag jumps awake, a Seal standing over him.

"Ed-" Flag stops himself. _This isn't Edwards_. Edwards died _there_ , back where June nearly had. Where Diablo had perished

This is a new Seal, a replacement. His name was Lucas, Flag finally remembered.

"How's everyone?"

Lucas slowly nods, "They're good, boss. All accounted for."

Flag returns the sentiment, nodding, "good. Let's move a bit further down, take more cover."

* * *

In the cover of the jungle, and away from any firefighting, Flag leans against a tree, letting himself slide down it as a hostage—the significant one, naturally—demands a rest. They keep their guard up, but Deadshot still approaches Flag, scratching his temple as he opens with, "So what's she up to? Just…cleaning? Scrap-booking? Voodoo?"

Flag looks at Deadshot as if to challenge his timing, still breathing hard after the attack.

"Oh, uh, I…yeah, how're you holding up? _Alright_? Alright…"

"Why are you so interested in talking bout the woman in my life. What about yours?"

Floyd smirks proudly, "She's graduating the eighth grade. Yeah, they put on a ceremony and everything…tryin' to hype it up. Her, ah, mom's supposed to be there and recording it for me. They say they'll play me the tape, y'know, if this mission goes well…"

Flag genuinely smiles, nodding. "I'll send a Seal, just in case her mom misses it."

"Oi, what we whisperin' bout?"

"What's wrong, _Captain_? Katanna finally castrate you?"

"Floyd's daughter is graduating."

"Oi, that's amazin'! I thought she wasn't legal yet?" Harkness looks genuinely upset at mistaking her age.

"Eighth grade, ya predator. And where do you even get these beers from? We're on a mission in the damn jungle-! That shits probably warm as hell."

"Hn."

Croc appears at Flag's shoulder, causing him to jump slightly.

"Ay, Crocky—Deadshot's daughter is finishing school!"

"She's not out of it completely. She's just moving up a grade."

"Aren't ya supposed to do that every year _anyway_?"

"How'd you know, you probably dropped out in…whatever the Aussie version of Kindergarten was."

"I'll have ya know I got through quite a bit of school!"

"Flag, what's going on?"

All their heads snapped up towards the Seal officer who'd stopped to look back. Flag looked between his team briefly.

"Deadshot's daughter is graduating the eighth grade…And Harkness was just telling us how he, too, completed… _some_ school." Rick rolled off, not quite sure how much 'quite a bit' was.

"He's also pretty worried we really don't know his birthday."

"-No one's tellin' me whether they do or don't, mate."

"I don't." Croc flatly answered.

"That hurts, mate…"

"Don't forget Flag," Croc growls.

"Yeah, he's having girl problems…we _think_. He won't tell us."

A few of the Seals shook their heads, disgusted. "Fuckin' criminals…"

Flag sighed, looking between the trio of murderers.

"Get back in formation. Drop point is just up ahead."

* * *

The plane lands after hours of dealing with delays and exchanges. Flag hasn't had more than an hour nap on each vessel and after the fourth attempt at sleep he gives up completely. When he's back on American soil and in possession of his phone once more, he finds he has one message.

 _"Rick, I…it's me. I'm here and it's early, at least where I am. I don't know where you are, but…a-anyway, I was just calling in…in hopes I'd hear your voice."_

Rick smirks to himself. It's damn good to hear hers.

 _"But, that's stupid and I'll see you soon enough…alright, well…I hope you're safe and alright and, yeah, I'll wait and see you again soon. I've been thinking about what you said; about anywhere…I might actually hold you to it. How's your Italian?"_

It's terrible. Flag is fluent in Japanese—having to be, because of Katanna—and Spanish and he even knows some German. He could get by with Italian, but his accent is atrocious. June was a natural linguist—she picked up most of the Germanic languages and enough college trips to Europe has left her with the ability to traverse and communicate fluently throughout the country.

" _I love you, Rick…"_

He dials to call back.

The phone rings but is never answered. Flag rubs at the bridge of his nose, checking the time. _Where'd June say she was going..?_

A hand on his shoulder alerts him to Deadshot.

"Heading back to the slammer. You better keep your word on that video."

Flag nods, "Of course."

Deadshot hesitates, scratching at his beard as Flag continues to scroll through his phone.

"She ain't picking up? Y'know, sometimes those suburban moms live in the deadest zones…She probably ain't picking up any signal out there at her mom's."

"She's not at her mom's." Rick counters.

"Her… _dad's_?"

"She's with Waller."

Deadshot suddenly straightens, squinting his eyes slightly.

"She's with… _Seriously_? I thought we, ah, took care of her 'witch' problem? You kinda…crushed its' heart. She ain't…" Deadshot mimicked the movements of Enchantress briefly, "-again, is she?"

Deadshot's interpretation of why Waller would need June further unsettles Flag. " _No_ , she's not."

"You _sure_?"

Flag frowns.

"Lawton _, let's go_." A guard—Griggs?—calls for Deadshot.

"I'm…yeah, good luck with your lady and that…Waller, _thing_ …Don't forget that video; I'm counting on you!"

Flag nods quickly after Deadshot as he approaches the guards, showing no resistance. He's instantly thrown to the ground, harshly.

" _Hey_!" Flag yells from across the courtyard warningly, lifting the phone to his ear.

This time, it jumps straight to voicemail.

Katanna passes by Flag, pausing to look him over.

"あなたが彼女に任意のプライバシーを与えていないので、あなたのガールフレンドはあなたを残しました."

Flag frowns, ignoring Katanna. She shrugs, walking on.

Irritated, Flag calls Waller instead.

She picks up after one ring.

"Colonel Flag."

"Where's June."

"I'm not your personal stationary, Colonel Flag. This number is for emergency contact only. Report on the mission."

"A success on all accounts. All hostages accounted for, the high profile hostage being flown back to DC as we speak. No casualties or mishaps. Where's June?"

Waller sighs.

"I'm sure she's fine. Go home, Colonel."

She hangs up on him and Flag curses under his breath. Maybe everything's fine. Maybe June _is_ back home, waiting for him. She could just be asleep, or her phone died. She probably wasn't expecting to hear from him, and turned her phone off, and that was it.

* * *

Except June isn't at the apartment.

Flag waits a couple hours, patiently. He flips through a book, tries his hand at cleaning—if he beat her home, he'll tidy up the place. Except too much cleaning makes it look unlived in so he spends roughly the same amount of time re-messing the apartment back up. (He even pulls a few cups out of the sink to sit on the counter, just to give the kitchen _something_ on its bare counter tops)

He has the news playing behind him as he drifts off, exhausted from the mission.

When he wakes up, he immediately checks his phone.

No new messages.

He'd slept for hours.

Hours without a nightmare, or any noise or otherwise disturbance. Everything is quiet without June and she isn't back and hasn't left a word for him. He calls Waller again.

" _Where is she?"_

"I haven't seen her, Colonel. Again, must I remind you this number is for emergencies-"

"There's something you're not telling me, Waller. Where are _you_? Where was this talk? June said something about an east coast professor..? _Where_ is June?"

"I told you, I don't-"

Flag slammed his fist on the counter, jumping the cups.

"Dammit, Waller, stop bullshitting me." He pauses, "If something has happened to June, I swear…keep all your threats. When she comes home, we're both leaving you. We don't need you, and you have no more use for either of us. That's it."

He hangs up on her this time, throwing the phone at the couch only to immediately retrieve it—in case June calls.

He paces the entirety of the apartment until finally he decides he needs to leave the house. June has to be fine. Waller says she's not with her, but Waller always has someone watching June—that someone is usually Rick, but this time it isn't. That doesn't mean there's no one. So she has to be safe…

Rick doesn't put it past Waller if she did keep June's disappearance a secret from Rick. She owes him no loyalty. He still hates this position and he hates not hearing back from June.

 _"…I'll see you soon enough…alright, well…I hope you're safe and alright and, yeah, I'll wait and see you again soon. I've been thinking about what you said; about anywhere…I might actually hold you to it. How's your Italian? I lo-"_

Four days later, and June hasn't returned.

* * *

Flag dreams of the perfect world—the vision Enchantress had shown him. Waking in a bed surrounded by a hazy light, with June beside him. _It was a dream_ , she tells him. All of it had been. There's no Enchantress, no Waller or "suicide squad"=

He wakes abruptly at a knock at the door.

A soldier stands straight with an envelope in his hand out stretched to Rick.

"From Waller."

Flag takes it and opens the envelope—except it's _not_ from Waller. It's from June.

It's her penmanship, but the words _aren't_ her.

Some bullshit apology about needing space. Every other sentence is laced with guilt over Midway, and regrets about ending things this way. The ending is concise—a simple "don't look for me. I've had Waller reassign you from watching me. I hope you understand'.

Except its bullshit.

This _isn't_ June.

* * *

When she stands there, a powerful entity shrouded in shadows and flickering her gaze between the war council, he sits back. Because he's seen this monster a hundred times and though he sees June beneath all the…magic, it's not her. _Not now_ , it isn't.

But then Waller asks for Dr. Moone back, _please_ , and he hates this part. He grows tense, because this is the moment where his worst fears come true and Enchantress doesn't give back June. She hesitates and he's afraid he'll never see June again.

And then Waller punctures the heart—she's never this forward. It's because of the audience. She's trying too hard to impress them, and to show them the control she has over Enchantress.

But Enchantress screams, and then it's no longer Enchantress but June—June gripping at her heart and begging to stop— _please, don't make her go through with this again_.

Waller snaps at Flag to remove June.

He's already at her side, pulling her out of the room, and instantly she breaks down, leaning into him.

"I can't— _I can't_ , never. Not again, please, _please_ —don't make me ever do it again! I _can't_ -!"

He tries comforting her, burying her against him, trying to calm her down.

"June, June its ok. She's gone, you aren't her and you're not going to be. _Alright_? You're June, _just_ June right now. And you're with me and I'm not asking you to be her, ok? I'm asking you to stay…stay _you_."

"She'll make me do it again. She always does, I—I can't. _Please_ , Rick, I can't!"

Rick grits his teeth, because she's right.

Waller will make June become Enchantress again. And _again_.

And he desperately wants to tell her she'll never have to be Enchantress again. Ever. But he can't promise such a thing.

Because this is the only promise he can't make her. He can't stop Waller. Because if they both try to fight her, and claim Enchantress will never be released again, then Waller will take her away from him. And she'll lock June up, and experiment and comatose and torture her. She'll find a way to force Enchantress out. This way, cooperating, at least he is by her side. At least he can hold her when she transforms back.

And he hates it. He hates telling June to always be strong, knowing this kills her every time when she lets that monster overcome her. He knows because it kills him every time too.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm here. I'm here with you…"

* * *

"You're positive this ain't her?"

Flag shakes his head, his hand gripped over his mouth. Deadshot sets the letter down, sighing. He's chained, hands cuffed and linked to his waist to his feet, but he leans back as if he's comfortable when they both know he's not.

"All I can say is…you need actual friends to bring this shit to, okay? You're kinda…my _warden_. This isn't stuff you bring your prisoner."

Flag stares at Deadshot for a moment before bowing his head.

"This isn't her. I know June and…" he waves his hands at the letter, "this isn't her."

"Well, is it her handwriting?"

"Yeah, but that can be forged-"

"Does she even write?"

Flag shrugs, "she _can_ write. She does—but she wouldn't write _this_."

"Maybe…it's too painful to…dump you in person? _Why_ am I here?" Deadshot throws his chained hands loosely in the air, shrugging because, _I mean this is great and all that you thought to come to me, but_ why _?_

Flag stands, pacing again.

"That's not June, okay? She wouldn't just…she went somewhere with Waller. _Right_? A-and then she doesn't come back? She just…sends this letter? _Through_ Waller even? It's set up. June wouldn't…" – _leave me_ , he thinks. They're _too_ in love, they're _too_ —"she'd tell me in person. And even all this-" he motions down the script, "-isn't her. She just…"

Lawton nods slowly.

"Alright. It _ain't_ her."

Flag bows his head, sighing in relief that someone else backs his notion.

"Still doesn't tell you where she is. Or what happened to her."

Flag frowns.

Floyd rubs his head. Not that he isn't happy to be out of his cell. Then again, he was having a pretty shit day himself, and having Flag lay out all his problems on him…

Deadshot had been minding his own business when just a flicker—the tiniest of lights—danced in his window. A ray of sunlight, but for a split second he'd mistaken it for flame.

And then he'd spiraled, remembering Diablo and his sacrifice. His claim that they were some kind of…family. And how Deadshot had been the one ultimately to make the call to blow to charges and take Diablo with them.

"Waller has her."

Deadshot stirs back to the present.

"Alright, but… _why_?"

Flag shakes his head, then cups it in his hands with an outcry of a half sigh, half growl.

"I don't know! Enchantress is gone…Waller doesn't _need_ June…"

Lawton cocks his head.

"Maybe this isn't about her. Maybe…it's you."

"… _what_?"

"Well, Waller, she…I don't know, seems the kind of lady who has trouble letting go of her assets. You're one of her tools, aren't you? I mean, you control us. And if I know anything, it's that Waller likes control. _And_ controlling us. Have you given her any doubt to trust you? Did you, I don't know, play your hand too early so she's retaliating? Maybe she took your lady to…get back at you."

Flag tried to ignore that idea.

" _No_ , no….no, she wouldn't have lied about it. If she…if she had June, and wanted to use her against me, she wouldn't pretend to not know where June is. She wouldn't stage June…leaving, just to turn around later and reveal she had her the whole time."

"Your boss…is a bitch." Lawton sighed. "So, if she doesn't have her…then where is she?"

Flag shook his head slowly in thought.

He _knows_ Waller has her. He just… _doesn't_ know if Waller has her…

"I don't know."

* * *

Faust wiped at his brow. He was exhausted. For five days straight, they'd been running the ritual. Enchantress still strained a raspy breathing pattern. The doctor hadn't resurfaced, and no water or food had been absorbed by the witch. They needed to give her a new heart, but they didn't have the proper ceremony or materials…

Waller's heels alert him she's suddenly there, behind him, and he stiffens.

"Sh-she's not stable, but we've kept her here, tied to this body, this long…She needs a new heart-"

"You've said that. Every day I _come_ here, you say that. So, when will you _do_ that?"

"I-I don't…I don't know how to create one. She…She's just so weak and my brethren and I aren't fairing any better…We have to thin ourselves out, taking shifts to keep the ceremony going without break and…W-we can't lose her, not after coming this far!"

"Then don't."

"She's not cooperating…Enchantress, she stays in the runes because she knows she'll die outside them, but…But she keeps trying to escape them. She's throwing out magic and illusions—She keeps trying to break free! We can't keep her contained much longer..."

Waller sighed, walking away from the mess of a man Faust had become. She had more faith in Flag to believe he wouldn't fall for the letter she'd planted. That connection between the Colonel and Dr. Moone—what had once been her greatest hold against the two of them—was now her greatest foil.

If he tried to dig too deep into this…

There's a crunch under her heel, and she looks down only to recognize Dr. Moone' phone which she'd crushed after Flag had first tried to call it.

Not that she thought he'd find June. She just didn't want the risk of a crazed Colonel running around, desperate to find his lost lady.

She needed Flag to let her be for just a few more days…they'd have Enchantress and control over her this time and then she'd give Dr. Moone back into the possession of Flag. And she'd have both of them, at their strongest and most powerful.

The important thing was she hadn't lied to him. When he'd called her, she hadn't seen Dr. June Moone in over a day—she'd only seen Enchantress, possessing Dr. Moone and, what seemed, dying in her former vessel.

She needed a breakthrough with Enchantress. She needed the witch back, and under her control.

* * *

"It's just a dream," she soothes.

He doesn't nod or smile or shake his head. He knows the truth—it's not real.

He can almost hear Diablo's voice, yelling at him as much.

He wants it so _badly_ to be real, though.

He raises his hand this time, reaching for her, but hesitates.

This isn't real.

June looks at him, hurt even, but then her image flickers and she's Enchantress.

Except she's the weak, powerless Enchantress groveling at his feet and taunting him that June is dead.

But, this time when she opens her mouth, her tone is more desperate.

 _"They're killing us! They're killing_ her _!"_

She's gasping as if she's drowning, and Rick stirs slightly.

 _"Help us! Help her! They're killing us!"_

" _Who_? Where are you? _Who's killing her_?!"

The image flickers, between Enchantress and June. Both are gripping their throats, gasping for breath, and their voices mingle as they cry out together.

" _They're killing us! Save us! Save me—_ Rick!"

Rick bolts awake from having keeled over the dining table. The letter still sits beside him.

He takes it and crumples it.

He knows now. He recognizes the voices in the flames from the mission. It was Enchantress, but also June.

And even, just now confirmed by his dream, Diablo.

It was them and more—screaming through the fire at Rick. He knows it now—that grenade was Enchantress. All of them were her, saving him.

And the mirage from the plane. That, too, was her.

He didn't know how or why, but Enchantress was somehow reaching out to him. June needed him.

Waller has her. She _has_ to.

And Rick is going to save her.

He just needs some help.

* * *

 _Always we can sing, we can make time_

 _Old songs, flood and flame, you could be mine_

* * *

 **A/N:** So this chapter has less June cause she's kinda possessed right now and the next chapter will delve into what she's going through and her state...Again, chapter 3 really is just rounding out the final character introductions and then 4 is where hopefully the plot really picks up~

I tried for humor this chapter-cause with the squad there's gotta be humor~ I'm not sure how successful I was... I'm concerned I'll write a number of these characters OOC, but that's unavoidable... I don't speak Japanese, so please forgive the grammar of Katanna if you can. Some of this chapter is a stretch, but if I'm honest it was cause I needed to stretch the length-like, would Waller really forge a breakup letter? Would Flag go to Deadshot for advice and girl problems? I think of it less as "girl problems" that he's going to and more "this is some shady shit and you're a shady expert so what's going on". And Waller just is desperately buying time to keep Flag from digging too deep looking for June-she can't exactly pick out a mission to distract him with again cause she's observing Enchantress' progress. That's my defense.

Does anyone know C.B's actual birthday? I had to look up Australian school systems just to be a hundred percent sure and I also looked up the actress' age who played Zoe-the movie calls her eleven, the actress is as of now 13, I went that she's graduating 8th grade but if that puts this timeline more than a year ahead then-oh, who really is gonna care that much! This is a fanfic... (I care. I care that much)

It's hinted, but in case it made no sense-Enchantress is reaching out and using her magic, trying to get Flag's attention. She teleported to him on the plane, briefly, and the grenades were her-the first one she kept from imploding and the others she was deflecting from hitting Flag and the others-and she's reaching out to him in his dreams.

Oh! And the entire scene and part of the squad talking amongst themselves just to have a Seal ask "what're you guys doing?" And them to all casually list out exactly what they're discussing is a nod to Bull Durham cause I love that movie...

Ok, that's enough typing and stalling! Again, next chapter introduces the final main plot characters making an appearance in this story and I hope you all enjoyed this second chapter!


	3. We Sink

So this chapter was really difficult to write, is the shortest and I'm still iffy about it all... But, it rounds out our cast!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, and the title of the fic is a reference to CHVRCHES album, as are chapter titles. There's more language in this chapter-like, not really much more...

I hope you enjoy parts of this chapter, more in the author's note at the end and again thank you for the support and feedback and overall just reading this fic! Moonflag/Flagmoon is rising!

* * *

 _I've come apart and you made me_

 _Float like_

 _A pretty box of your evil_

* * *

" _ **Sister…"**_

June feels weightless and suspended.

She feels dissociated with her body and mind, like in a dream, but still she's consciously aware enough of her existence.

Enchantress is laughing but at the same time she's screaming, drowning June's mind with her cries. She's in pain, Enchantress, but June feels nothing and in the void Enchantress' screams are all she hears.

Except, just then, the faint cry of Incubus.

She's engulfed in darkness; in the way she always felt when Enchantress would overtake her. She can feel the magic pulsing through her. She used to be vaguely aware of what happened, of her surroundings, but now…

" _ **Sister, your heart…Free me…"**_

It occurs to June that Incubus' voice is deep and ancient and…not English. But she can understand him. She can feel his soul tugging at her, pleading at her to reach into the darkness for him. He's trying to reach Enchantress-reach _June_ \- and join her…

June feels a throbbing pain course threw her suddenly. It's a fire, particularly in her chest, and she wants it to end. She needs it to be over. She feels stretched thin over eternity, burning and screaming alongside Enchantress. And she can't stop Incubus' bellowing for her, pleading, and she can't see or feel anything other than pain.

The three of their's voices mold together.

Then, suddenly there's a hand lightly touching her wrist and the screaming is gone and when she opens her eyes she's not alone.

"She's awake," a voice says and June's vision begins to focus. It's a man. He's handsome, brunette and strong jawed. It takes a moment for words and their meaning to form in June's mind, and slowly she recalls 'clothes'. His are special.

A uniform. Military, she finally decides. He's… _Navy_ , she thinks, focusing on the specific insignia and remaining very narrow-minded to her surroundings so she can focus.

Her mind latches onto the uniform…There's something she needs to remember, something she can't forget…

 _Rick._

It reminds her of Rick, and her eyes begin to close again.

Colonel Rick Flag...they're in love, she remembers. He loves her, and he's brave and he's gentle and she loves him back. June's mind starts slipping-she can feel the tug to return to the void, the darkness and the screaming, but her mind is still running with the thought of _Rick_ and she's trying to make out his face, but the darkness is closing around her

She just manages to mutter out a faint, quiet whisper of the name.

" _Rick_? Does she mean _Flag_?"

"Flag?!" A second voice speaks, but June slips back into her trance of screams and fire and she no longer feels the hand at her wrist or hears a voice other than the ancient ones demanding to be free.

* * *

Katanna sits before her husband's shrine. It's simple; incense and a photo set on a table that she kneels at. Her sword is laid out before it, as well. She bows once, praying, and repeats.

Then, there's a knock.

Katanna finishes her prayer, blowing the candle out before lifting herself. The knocking comes again, except this time it's harsher and longer and the guest doesn't stop knocking until Katanna opens the door to reveal them.

It's Rick Flag.

"なんでしょう?"

"I'm here to ask for your help."

Katanna looks between his hands. He's not holding a mission file. He's not even dressed in uniform—just a simple plaid shirt. It's the afternoon on a day off, and Katanna herself isn't wearing her mask or holstering her sword. It's all packed away, neatly, where she left it from coming back from their last mission. She's not expected back on base until the following week.

"何のために?"

"You have to agree before I can tell you anything more," Rick shakes his head. "It's…not legal. And it goes against everything you stand for."

"それは私の夫の魂を汚すだろうか?"

Rick frowns.

"No…but it could land you in prison."

"それは何ですか?"

"June."

"私は私の剣をつかむだろう."

Rick smirks as Katanna turns to retrieve her sword.

Seems he's no longer completely on his own.

* * *

June comes too and it's quiet. Enchantress has stopped screaming, and Incubus is gone, too. Everything is dark, and she feels lurches of pain spasm occasionally throughout her body, but then there's a voice right beside her ear that actually lets out air she can feel against her skin and she's aware someone is next to her.

"She's back."

" _Back_? Where was I?" She asked, hazy still as words feel and sound foreign to speak to her still.

"She's awake!"

Its two voices, she realizes. June tries shifting her head, trying to find the source of the voices. She can't pin point where they're coming from.

"Where are you…I-I can't see you?"

"Try opening your eyes."

And a new sensation dawns on June and she can feel her eyelids blink open.

And suddenly there's light and feeling.

She blinks, focusing her eyes, and slowly curling her fingers and moving her appendices. She's on something…something soft. And the setting is familiar. So familiar…

There's…a table, she recalls the word. Language and memory flood back to her, and she quickly recognizes it all—a table, and a bed and a television and the counter and the room and now she recalls.

This is her apartment.

June sits up and she realizes she's on the bed, and then she turns her attention to her current company. One sits on the bed next to her, but keeping his distance, while the other stands against the wall, leaning.

The first she recognizes. He wears the uniform.

The second wears only a wife beater and is covered in tattoos.

June doesn't recognize either immediately, but something stands familiar about them.

"Where are we?"

The first man nearest to her shrugs, looking to the other.

"It's not _my_ memory."

" _Memory_?" June repeats.

"This is the afterlife." The other man answers. She couldn't make out his mouth before, with the tattoos, but when his lips part she recognizes that the symbols on his face give him the appearance of a skeleton—of death.

"After…?" Thoughts occur to June and she suddenly jumps to her feet, though she sways and loses her balance and falls back to the bed. Still, urgently, she shakes her head, "No…no, I _can't_ be dead. I need to get back-!"

"Hold on, don't try standing just yet," The man nearest her cautions. The other frowns and impatiently shifts his weight onto his other foot.

"Ma'am, you need to calm down and…take it easy, alright? We don't," He glances at his companion, "We don't know for sure where we are."

"It just makes sense, _ese_." The other responds.

"How?!" June demands. "How does being _dead_ make sense?"

The tattooed man shrugs.

"Cause we're both dead. You must be too."

June shakes her head, again, vehemently.

"No. No, I can't…I can't be dead. She…she has control but she can't…she couldn't have…"

June is horrified. _What if she_ did _die_? What if Enchantress is alone in her body, and June is…

The apartment seems to waver, and fade, and suddenly she's surrounded by debris and rubble and things are falling. She's no longer sitting on the bed, and so she falls to her knees. It makes no sense yet it does and June feels both horror and calm and she tries to panic, tries to cope that she very well could be dead, yet nothing in her body flares up. She feels numb and cold and-

" _Diablo_ , is this you?"

The two men exchange a look, briefly, before the tattooed one suddenly jumps from against a wall towards June.

"You're _her_!"

June looks up, still conflicted on how she feels nothing and everything, at the man with tattoos, pointing at her accusingly, but she doesn't know what for.

"You're the witch! This isn't me, _ese_! This is her memory! _It's_ _her_!"

"You're…Is that why you knew Rick's name? _Rick Flag_ , right? That's who you meant-"

June is only half hearing the men right now. Because now the panic and pain are flooding back to her senses and she can feel herself being tugged; she can feel herself losing not only consciousness but substance. June falls to her side, both men rushing to her.

"I… _what_? I'm who? Who is..?"

Her memory and mind are slipping and she's forgetting the men's faces and the setting and words—

The tattooed male shakes his head, "No, she's slipping. She'll disappear again!"

The other quickly grabs June's shoulders.

"My name is GQ Edwards. This is Chato Santana. We served with Colonel Rick Flag on a mission to Midway City, where it was under attack…it was under attack _by_ you. You're Enchantress, aren't you?"

June stirs at the name.

" _Enchantress…"_

Then, suddenly, everything is black and numb once more.

* * *

"Rick, I can't— _I can't_ -"

"-June. You have to. Just get it done."

He hates this. He hates that Waller is sending June out to the front lines—the first wave of defense against that monster, and it _has_ to be June; _alone_. Except it won't be June. It'll be Enchantress.

And Rick has never asked June to transform before personally. It was always by accident, like when Enchantress would over power June's will and mind, or Waller demanding a demonstration. Rick had never asked for Enchantress because he knew June hated it, hated the witch; hated letting that ancient evil be unleashed on the world and her fears were all coming true now with the release of Incubus.

And Rick hated watching the woman he loved disappear.

But they needed Enchantress; they needed her magic and Rick had his doubts in this mission but it was all they could do.

He still hates it.

So, for the first time, Rick is the one asking, demanding, her to summon Enchantress.

"Get it done." He repeats, and this time his voice betrays how scared he is for June.

And his last glance at June sees her bowing her head, terrified but still trying to be strong.

Then she whispers that damn witch's name, and June is gone—replaced by Enchantress.

The trickster hears his instructions on the charges and follows them to a T—press the button and teleport. He wonders if it's his own damn fault for not clarifying, but the thought is quickly brushed aside because the witch is just playing with them all.

And now she's gone. Not just Enchantress, but June.

"Waller she bolted," he reports through the con. And his blood is boiling because Enchantress is holding June hostage, stealing her body, and he can't follow after her.

"She bolted!" He yells again, and it's hitting him that June is lost. He knows he can't stop Waller from following her fall back—he knows she'll stab Enchantress' heart to stop her.

She'll kill June.

He's so distraught, so eager to get out of there, to get a team together and go after her and save her or to race to Waller and stop her from hurting the witch's heart that he leaves the charge behind.

He holds his breadth and keeps it to himself the relief he feels when the short military footage shows both Incubus and Enchantress raising the lower sect of the city.

They establish that Enchantress is using power from her brother, the duo keeping her alive despite her hostage heart, and their fall back card is useless now.

Rick hates Enchantress, the monster, but for the first time he's glad to see the creature alive.

Because if she's alive, then June is too. And Rick can rescue her.

He has to.

* * *

Rick pulls uncomfortably at the collar of his uniform. Katanna walks several paces behind him, feigning no association with him as they trek down the hallway.

When they reach the right intersection, Rick turns down one hall and Katanna takes position at the cross.

Rick is sweating, hoping no one asks questions or catches him. He looks normal enough on the base—he's in uniform, high ranking and all. Except he doesn't have clearance for this particular room and how he's going to talk himself out of this if he gets caught…

He can't afford to be caught. He needs this plan to work because he needs to find June and to find June, he needs-

He comes up to the door. He inhales a sharp breath and hopes this works. Katanna slipped the code from someone somehow—he didn't ask. He punches the four digits and prays it unlocks.

A green light and the click of the lock are followed quickly by Rick's exhale of relief.

With a final glance at Katanna to check that the hall remains clear, he slips inside.

It's a mass of briefcases and boxes, files and cabinets. Weapons that have been dismantled and tagged. He heads for the cabinets, looking for case files. Of course Taskforce X is a black book that was burned by Waller immediately after the incident, but health records and emergency protocols on all the subjects are constantly kept up to date.

The first one he finds, alphabetically, is Deadshot's. It'll do, and he finds himself once again relieved when sure enough the file is updated to include the most recent modifications to the patient.

The implant's schematics.

Rick doesn't have time to look over the file now. He just prays that everything he needs is here, and heads for the door.

* * *

June wakes instantly this time, recognizing the familiarity of her setting—it's clearly a bedroom—but she's unable to put a memory to it. She glances around her. Toys, the sheets, the size…It's a child's bedroom. _A young boy's..?_

"It's _my_ memory."

June whips her head to face…Chato, wasn't it? She glances around, looking for the other…DQ? GQ. She doesn't see him immediately though. It's just her and Chato, and there's something very familiar about him that she is trying to remember.

"This was my son's room." Chato continues, sitting himself in a chair nearby. It's strange, seeing this man so decorated in symbols of death, in a child's room. But, his eyes are soft and he looks so much in pain that June doesn't fear him—she pities him. She doesn't know where his son is, but he himself is here. And to be away from your loved ones for any reason…

"When you and the other one attacked Midway, GQ and I were a part of a mission to stop you. He set the charges and I got caught in the blast. He did, too. Ever since, we've been in this place. It fades and changes—sometimes it's his memories, and sometimes it's mine. And then you started showing up, and now sometimes it's yours."

June shakes her head. "I still don't understand this place…"

Chato laughs. "Me neither. It's either heaven or hell, or some kind of in between… But sometimes _you_ aren't here. Ever since you first showed up, you rarely would actually wake, and most of the time you disappear as soon as you appear."

"Where's GQ?"

"Here." And with the entrance of his voice, June finally catches sight of him, standing somewhere to the side. The scene changes and it's the exterior farm house that she doesn't recognize. She assumes it's one of his memories.

Chato continues, "See, we're both dead. And we thought you might be, too…But, you keep slipping out and…"

"-We think you're not…quite gone. You still have some tie to the world of the living and you keep slipping between the two."

June bows her head, trying to make sense of this.

"You think…I'm still alive? Partially, or…" She recalls Enchantress, and the ceremony, and she's digging into her memories for what Waller had told her before,

"A dimension…"

Just then, a sharp whisper rings in her ears.

" _ **Sister…"**_

"He's here." June suddenly stands, alert.

"Who?"

"Didn't you hear him?!"

June looks around her, but it's just Chato and GQ. Incubus isn't here, but she hears his voice whispering in her mind. She can feel his presence.

"You said you blew a charge and that you were caught in the blast. Were you…Were you trying to take out Incubus?"

" _Who_?"

"The…the witch's brother? That's it, isn't it? I…I wasn't in control, I was conscious but I-I think I remember your face. You were there, weren't you?"

Chato nods slowly.

"Yeah…"

Suddenly, memories start returning to June. The Taskforce, the files…She remembers him now. El Diablo, he'd been called. He was a meta-human, just like her…

"They don't die…Enchantress and her brother, th-they don't die!" June is suddenly up and alive with hope and her thoughts are racing. "She said…She said that worshipers believed they went to another…dimension. That's it! _That's_ where we are!"

There's no wind, despite them standing outside of (presumably) GQ's memory house. The trees don't shift or move and it's like standing in a photograph with no ambiance, no noise and no life.

"You died along with Incubus, but…but what if you _didn't_ die? What if you somehow…got dragged into this dimension with him? If the three of you died together… He's here; I can feel him—hear him. Instead of passing, you two were caught up with him and ended up in this dimension… This is where Enchantress must have been."

June looks around as if this new revelation of hers suddenly makes her see it in some new light.

"And she keeps slipping because…She doesn't have a heart. We're alive, me and her, _somehow_ but…but she can't escape this dimension's grip completely."

It dawns on June.

 _Incubus_.

"She needs Incubus. He sustained her the last time her heart was stabbed, he…He's the key to escaping the runes. To surviving, to…to getting out of _here_!"

June looks between the two of them.

"You knew Rick, you said?"

They both nod, still trying to follow her complicated trail of thought. Neither have any clue what exactly she's going on about, but June understands and the knowledge that she is still _alive_ , that there is a way potentially out of this place ignites something in her.

"Well…I-I need to get back to him. And I know you said you died stopping Incubus but…but, really it was me who killed you both. It's my fault and if… if there's a way to escape this dimension, then I will get you both out of here. I'll bring us all back. I _promise_ you. I _will_ make up for what I, and Enchantress, did."

GQ shrugs.

"How?"

June's shoulders shrink.

"I'm not sure. I know we need Incubus. He's somewhere here, with us—I can hear him. We have to find him and…"

"And he'll help us escape this dimension? I don't think he'll be happy to see me, no offense."

"I kind of agree with Chato. This was a mass-murdering demon who was trying to take over the world with his sister...You really think he'll help us?

June bites her lip.

There's also the question of whether they should try and unleash Incubus back onto their world.

"No. But, he'll have to. He wants to return to our world, and he wants to return to his sister. We have one bargaining chip that could just do the trick…"

"What's that, _ese_?"

"Me."

* * *

Rick runs a hand over his scalp, irritated as he shifts through the papers. The schematics are, as suspected, in jargon Rick isn't completely versed in. He knows enough about electronics, but at the micro level his engineering skills end. Katanna sits across from him, arms crossed while she waits.

Rick tosses the papers in front of him on the table.

"I don't know," he admits, repeating himself over, "I don't know, I don't _know_ —I _can't_ figure out how to disarm the damn things…"

Rick glances at his arm.

Since the squad was, covertly, kept in play, his controls had been returned to him. He had a band on his arm that he never bothered threatening with. Truth was, he hated the damn thing, and he'd left it behind on a mission or two despite Waller's warnings.

He bonded with the damn Taskforce, despite the 'scumbags' they were, and they all seemed to have come around enough to go on the missions for the perks of reduced sentences. At least, Deadshot and Killer Croc shared that opinion. Boomerang complained constantly, but at least he got let out of his cell.

The problem, however, was that Rick didn't have the only controls. He could disarm the bombs and just as quickly Waller could override him and set the bombs off before Rick could have time to retaliate.

He needed a more permanent solution to removing the bombs to his team.

He shook his head.

Without the team, he had no hopes of finding June.

"We could try cutting them out?" He asks out loud.

Katanna cocked a brow to this.

"And risk setting them off…yeah…"he reasons. Well, that was a bust.

"'Could trick the guards into thinking we're going on a certified mission…but that'll only get us far enough until Waller gets word and blows the chips."

Rick, in frustration, kicked the table.

Katanna shrugged.

"彼女が見つけるされません."

Rick lifted his head, surprised at Katanna.

"How's that?"

Katanna smiled. And in her soft voice, in English,

"I know of someone…"

* * *

Griggs slammed against the brick alleyway wall.

" _Christ_ —why does this keep happening to me?" Griggs gripes.

Flag pushes his arm against Griggs' throat, pinning him on the wall.

"We know you're the one who sold out to the Joker on Belle Reve. Thing is, we're not gonna do a _damn_ thing about it."

"You're n-not?"

Rick shakes his head.

" _Nope_. Not as long as you cooperate. Refuse to help us and, well, some people _much_ higher than you will receive an anonymous tip of who exactly is to blame for Harley Quinn's escape."

Griggs laughs nervously.

"You're not..? _Are_ you..?! Ok, _alright_ , I'll help you! What do you need me to do, huh? Take a prisoner out, smuggle something in, what? I can get you into Belle Reve, I can-"

"No. I want you to just do your job."

Griggs hesitates, wondering if he heard right.

"Excuse me?"

"I need speak to my team. The Taskforce."

"But…you already have that privilege? They have visiting hours, you see them, like, every other week-"

"This visit doesn't get monitored. And it doesn't make its way to Waller, either. You just take care of Belle Reve, and no matter _what_ happens, you act as if nothing happened."

"…What's going to happen?"

Rick frowns, because admitting as much just further incriminates him as a criminal.

"Something illegal."

* * *

"Are you alright?"

June startles as GQ approaches her. He's smiling but she can tell he's concerned over something, and not just her. Hell, she's concerned. She's either dying or dead, trapped in another dimension that would drive anyone else mad, with two strangers who she is responsible for killing. And their hope potentially lies with an ancient demon-like creature that she is supposed to, yet unaware of how, get to cooperate in sending the three of them back, but manage to do so without bringing it with them as well.

And through all this, she misses Rick and wishes he was here. He's the master of strategy and plans. She was always too eager to jump straight into things, until she burned her hand too many times touching the stove.

She wishes she never traveled South to find and be corrupted by Enchantress. Except she'd never have met Rick if she hadn't…

And through all this contemplation, June can still feel the pain that Enchantress is experiencing. Enchantress is forcefully being suspended in the other realm—in the realm world. June can feel the other half of her burning and choking. She doesn't have a heart, but her life is being prolonged by the cultists and magic. June wonders about time, and how much has passed since she's been here. Sometimes it feels like days, others seconds, and then she forgets what the concept of time even is and has to remind herself because her memories keep slipping.

They're currently standing in an empty prison field. It's Chato's memory, and he alone sits away from the other two, contemplating or meditating.

June realizes she hasn't answered GQ yet and quickly rushes out a, "Yeah, I'm fine." She's not, and they both know it.

GQ clasps his hands together, propping his elbows on his knees.

"I'm sorry this is happening to you," he offers. June shakes her head.

"I should be saying that to you. Both of you. I'm the reason we're in this mess…" _I'm the reason you're dead._

"You really think we can go back?"

June looks at GQ and reads the concern on his face.

That's what he really fears. And she comes, spreading a false hope and preaching that she thinks they can escape this dimension. She's promising that they'll make it home. But, they aren't like her. Her body is in the other dimension. They died, several months ago. Their next of kin have mourned them—there have been funerals and grieving and lives have moved on. What would GQ and Chato be returning to even if they could return?

But then June reminds herself that if she's right, this isn't the afterlife. They aren't dead—they're trapped. And she never could stop Enchantress before and she, unwilling as it may have been, was an accomplice to the murder of hundreds in Midway City and the destruction. And if she can make up for it, even a tiny bit, by freeing two souls…

"Absolutely."

The memory shifts, and the flat, dry grassy field is replaced by a lush jungle. June and GQ quickly stand, and Chato is behind them. He raises his fists, and June is fascinated to find they're on fire.

"What's wrong?" GQ asks.

June shakes her head, because she feels the same apprehension that Chato does.

"This is it."

"What?!" GQ stammers.

"This place…" June knows it all too well, but it looks different than she remembers—younger.

"This isn't any of our memories. It's _his_."

" _Vamos a empezar se."_

June feels a rush of adrenaline and tries to talk herself through their game plan.

"Right, so if Chato has his powers, it's safe to assume this guy will, too. Stay out of range of him and…and let me talk to him."

GQ shakes his head, still staring off in front of them.

"Are we even sure he's really here..?"

" _ **June**_."

"Yeah," June mutters, "He's here."

* * *

Flag walks towards the mess hall cautiously. He prays Griggs did what he asked of him. He glances at the camera nearest him and, sure enough, the light is off.

 _Alright, so far so good_.

When he reaches the cafeteria, one man alone sits chained to the table.

"Flag. What's the occasion?"

Deadshot grins, because any excuse to be out of his cell is an alright one, but he quickly sees how nervous Flag looks. He's stiff and uneasy and he takes a seat across from Lawton.

"Flag, you're…you're kinda scaring me with that look of yours. Did you find your lady? Or is this something to do with me..?" His face grows pale, "Is it _Zoe_? What happened?"

Flag shakes his head, looking over his shoulder.

"Nah, it's…Zoe's fine. Look, Deadshot…we're not really friends."

"Ouch. Right out the gate." Floyd leans back. Rick smirks, but it's brief and he's quickly back to frowning.

"But, I need to ask something of you. Something that you have a choice in—this ain't like the other missions with Waller telling you where to go. This…this mission won't win you any time off your sentence. In fact, it most likely will get you killed."

"You're really selling this, Flag," Floyd cocks his head. "So what is it that you're asking for my help, but are also sending me to die?"

Rick lowers his voice, and Floyd hasn't seen Rick this desperate since that night in the bar.

"Waller has June. She won't say as much, but…I just know it. And…I think Enchantress is involved."

Floyd shakes his head, " _Nah_. No, that witch is dead-"

"I can't explain it," Rick pleads, "But they're connected and I have to find them."

Floyd slowly nods his head. "I think I know where this is going."

"I don't know where to start with how we'd do it. I don't have explosives to bust you out of here…I don't have any man power or money to bribe with…no resources, no connections…And I can't do a damn thing about the bombs," Rick sounds more and more deflated as he goes on. "But I can't do this alone, and if there's a team out there that can help me, it's the Taskforce. But, I won't make you do this—so, I'm asking you."

Floyd nods slowly, considering Rick's words.

"So…You're asking me to come with you to go find your girlfriend, who you don't know where is being held-"

Rick nods.

"-and you don't have a way to get me or the others out-"

"-That is correct."

"-And even if you _did_ , you _also_ don't have a way of stopping the bombs in our necks, so Waller could push a button at any time once she hears we escaped."

"That is also correct."

"Huh…yeah, so your pep talks still suck."

Rick bows his head.

"-But I'm in."

Rick looks so genuinely surprised when he faces Floyd. "Even…with all those conditions?"

"I mean, I can't speak for the others, but you're essentially asking if I want to bust out of prison. The answer is _hell_ yes."

Rick practically hugs Lawton, but recalls the other man's stance on such.

"So, it's you and me and…?"

"Katanna."

" _and_..?"

"So far, that's it."

Floyd nods, suddenly realizing that _Mr. Tactics and Plans_ has _no_ plan. Not even a check list.

"And the thing in the neck…that's still gotta, you know, get resolved-"

Deadshot is cut off when the wall suddenly explodes.

Rubble topples and Rick and Lawton both attempt to duck under the table. The hall is quiet, as the alarms have been cut and the cameras are down.

Lawton looks to Rick.

"You doin' this?"

Flag looks baffled, shaking his head and trying to peer through the smoke.

A figure emerges, and there before them, standing on the collapsed wall in her too high heels with a bad in hand and her pistol in the other, is none other than Harley Quinn.

" _Hell~o_ _boys_! Miss me?"

* * *

 _I'll be a thorn in your side_

 _For always_

 _If we sink_

 _We lift our love_

* * *

 **A/N:** Whenever Rick tells the squad the truth in the movie after Deadshot throws the binder at him, his flashback continues on to the part where Enchantress gets sustained by Incubus-so, I'm using that as proof that the military knew that Enchantress was surviving because of her brother and that's why Rick set their first objective when they attacked to be 'take out the big guy' (I know he could just have easily been saying that cause they needed to take the big guy out before they could reach Enchantress, but it only makes sense that if he was or even wasn't aware that Waller stabbed the heart, and Enchantress still survived, he wouldn't have later, after Incubus is defeated, said "We need to cut out her heart!" b/c he would've assumed attacking the heart didn't work since it didn't before)

I hope this chapter isn't too confusing-it gets kinda surreal but honestly I really wanted to set up this idea that Enchantress was not-dead in another dimension because a) Waller mentions she's a multi-dimensional witch, and with her longevity she idk seemed a bit different than just an average Meta-human, and b) I really wanted to bring GQ back. Diablo and Enchantress themselves I could've found a less complicated route of bringing them back into the picture, since they were meta-humans, but GQ was just cute and so much shorter than Rick Flag and Scott Eastwood was like a puppy in the movie and I liked his character. So, I had him tag along with Diablo and Incubus into this afterlife/limbo/dimension and I'm sorry if this derails the story for some of you but I promise this whole dimension thing doesn't last long...

This chapter was hard to flesh out, because most of the hard-hitting notes and action is in the next chapter, but I consider this the third act of the set-up. Both Rick and June have their plans and are about to set them into motion, whether they're ready or not; from here out, the rest of the characters, now that all of them have been introduced, will have larger parts and even some POVs (Though at the core this is a Flagmoon fic)

On a side note, I ordered the novel adaptation of the movie cause that's how in love with Rick/June that I am and I need~ their story spelt out to me literally on a page. Depending on how the book is and what little or lot it adds to their story, it might influence this story but otherwise I'm going off of movie canon-only-just in case the book adds something that I disproved earlier (Like say the book says June has a brother; small things like that~)

Anyway, sorry this chapter was weird and short, the next one will be better *hopefully*


	4. Gun

This is the second fanfic I've written that had a prison break out scene, and honestly I can fully confirm that the hardest thing for me to write are prison breakout scenes. You really will have to subject yourself to some heavy suspension of disbelief for this chapter-try thinking not too hard on some of the logic and scenes cause I tried my best but...eh

Disclaimer: I own nothing, there's a lot less language in this chapter but there's the slightest of self harm/trigger warning...?

This chapter honestly had a lot of action going on-very difficult to write. So I really didn't go over and polish this chapter like the others, cause I didn't want to add too much and make this chapter unbearably long... Anyway, I hope you enjoy the course this story is taking!

* * *

 _You had better run from me_

 _With everything you own_

 _'Cause I am gonna come for you_

 _With all that I have_

* * *

The alarms are blaring; red alert sirens flash throughout the empty cafeteria.

"What? Don't tell me ya didn't _miss me_?" Harley pouts. "Cause here I was, missin' you guys _so_ much that I even told Puddin' I wanted to take the week off and come visit you guys!"

There's something wavering about the way Harley mentions the Joker- so affectionately still- that Deadshot gives her a questioning look. She doesn't make eye contact with him, and instead flips her pretty little pigtails and poses, showing off her heeled boots (stilettos, because of course they are) and her classic red and blue look, this time around imagined in equally short shorts and an even more so revealing top, though the fabric is thicker. Strapped to her waste is a small purse in the shape of a panda head, and her ears flicker with a set of gold chandelier earrings. Her neck bares a simple black choker with a Joker card tucked into it.

All and all it's a gaudy look.

Deadshot pinches the bridge of his nose.

First Flag pulls off this secret meet up to plan how to break Deadshot and the others out, and now _Harley_ shows up, blasting the place up. What could _possibly_ be next?

"You plan this..?" Rick suddenly asks Deadshot.

Deadshot shakes his head. "I don't think _she_ even did."

Deadshot squints, looking behind Harley.

"Harley, did you come _alone_?!"

 _That's_ what's next. No reinforcements.

Harley pouts. "Can't you just be happy that I came at _all_?" She turns her attention towards Flag.

"Hey Flag," she winks. "Fancy findin' you here. You friendly or Foe-lish?"

Rick is dumbfounded that Harley Quinn is standing before his very eyes and hesitates before realization of their situation dawns on him.

"Dammit, Lady! You're gonna bring every guard raining down after us!" He turns to Lawton, "I got Griggs on my side to not alert Waller of anything, but I'm not sure if he'll buy that _this_ is the 'something' I was talking about."

Deadshot sighs, looking crossly towards Harley.

"Didn't think this through, _either_ of you, did ya?"

Harley cocks her head, her pigtails bobbing. "Flag ain't gonna try to stop us?"

"Harley, Flag's actually with us… _or_ , we're with him..?"

Flag looks at Deadshot, still in disbelief that Deadshot agreed to his plan, and now that Harley has shown up, too.

"Oh." Harley shrugs nonchalantly. "Well then, we three better go round up the rest of the gang! And did anyone else notice no cameras are on in this place?"

Deadshot nodded towards Flag, "Again. Our side."

"C'mon," Flag calls out, reaching for his pass and heading towards the doors leading back to the cells. He swipes his card and the door unlocks, looking back briefly to comment,

"We're here for the team, aren't we?"

Deadshot raises his wrists, still cuffed. "Hello?"

"I gotcha, doll face," Harley runs over, pulling her signature handgun at Lawton's chains. Before he can yell at her not to, she puts two rounds in the chains.

Frowning, Deadshot removes the cuffs of metal, "You could've shot my damn foot off. Or worse. You're still crazy as ever."

Harley winked, "Ya _love_ it!"

* * *

"Some of this vegetation…it's been extinct for centuries!" June marvels at the landscape. She has to remind herself this is a memory- a projection- and she's not _actually_ travelled 6000 years into the past.

"So, are we, like, following his _voice_ or something..?" Diablo asks, not nearly as impressed by grass as June is.

June frowns, "No. I can hear his voice in my head, but it's not coming from any direction. Besides, I know where he'll be, and I know the way."

"How..?" GQ asked tentatively.

"I've been here before."

It's a long trek, and for a moment June wonders if the change of geography will misguide her. But, strangely enough, she _feels_ the way. She has relived the day that changed her life for ages, and memorized the path and the forest and the temple and the cave-

When they finally reach a vantage point, Diablo and GQ gasp at the sight of the Temple. Except it's not covered with growth and forest and ages of wear and eroded as she remembers it. It's beautiful and golden and rises amongst the trees like a sun. There are flames and torches that reflect on the gold, causing the entire temple to flicker and waver like a mirage. It's nearly blinding to look at.

"And he's in there..?" GQ continues to ask, still questioning this whole mission. June nods.

Diablo steps forward first, "Let's go then-"

June suddenly collapses, crying out in pain.

She's screaming, gripping at her heart and chest, and GQ and Diablo are by her side immediately.

"What's wrong?!"

" _Shit_ , what if she fades— _now_ , of all times?"

June feels tears well in her eyes, but they're peculiar—they're tears of pain but also of relief, of joy. She feels Enchantress reaching out to her, through her, across the dimensions and her vision fades.

Her eyes no longer look at the faces of her two companions, but at a stone floor with thick, gloppy painted runes and enscriptions instead. June realizes she's seeing through Enchantress's eyes (her own eyes). Enchantress is panting, breathing heavily and June feels the exertion. She's trying to pump air through lungs without a heart to control them, sustained like a machine by the weak magic the cultists course through the runes. And then Enchantress (June) lowers her head towards her arms, and turns them to reveal her ash-covered wrists.

Enchantress brings a finger up to the top and draws it down, breaking skin with her nail. Her hand shakes, but Enchantress is determined. A trickle of blood pools to the surface of her arm. The chanters don't notice; June's body is so curled in on itself on the ground, writhing and cringing. Enchantress takes her finger and smudges the blood on her arm, first in a circular motion and then several supporting streaks. It's a symbol; not one that June recognizes, though her knowledge of runes and magic was always rather limited considering she was possessed by a witch, not actually one.

" _Brother…June…They're killing us…They're_ killing _us…Rick…"_

June gasps, jumping upright as she plunges back from her vision and into the reality that she currently knows. Diablo and GQ jump back, concerned.

June frantically looks at her arm—there's no mark. She quickly turns to the ground, drawing in the sandy dirt the symbol to the best of her memory. When she's done, she stares at it.

Diablo and GQ exchange a look before finally breaking the silence, "What's that..?"

"She said 'Rick'…" June mutters, memorizing the symbol.

"Who said?" Diablo asks.

June looks up to the two men, standing beside her. "Enchantress did. She showed me—she showed me what we have to do, I think…"

She looks back at the rune.

"We need this symbol, and Incubus. And…I'm not sure what to do with either yet, but I know we'll figure it out once we find Incubus. Then, we have to get back, and I have to save Rick."

"Save him? Do you think he's in trouble?"

June bites her lip.

"I'm not sure…but why would Enchantress say his name?"

"You think she has him?"

"No. Enchantress is trapped in the seal. I think…I felt her try to use her magic, outside of it, once—it was really, really painful," June flinches, recalling the suspended feeling from before and the few times she'd suddenly feel a sharper, more intense fire course through her. "But she's stopped. If she said Rick's name…maybe he's in trouble, but not because Enchantress."

"Well, we have our own 'trouble' ahead of us. We'll worry about Rick when and if we get out of here."

"Besides," GQ adds, "Colonel Rick Flag was practically a legend of a soldier—any situation, he'll be fine."

* * *

"Flag, some _weapons_ would be nice," Deadshot called over the sound of gunfire. The trio were currently barricaded behind around two corners, with fire power shooting down the hall towards them.

Harley frowns, sitting next to Deadshot.

"I don't know if I can take 'em all out at this distance," she pouted, sadly turning her pistol over in her hand. Deadshot eyed it for one second, snatched it, and leapt out from cover.

" _Hey_! That's mine!"

"Lawton, _no_!"

Deadshot took aim and shot as quick as a blink. Six rounds, all direct headshots.

The first guard hadn't even hit the ground by the time the last one was dead.

"Never mind, Flag- I fixed the situation."

Harley jumped up, irritated.

"That was mine! Give it back!"

"Which one of us is the better shot? Or, more accurately, is known as the best shot in the _world_?"

Harley scrunched her face up, contemplating a moment before smiling, "Alright, you can borrow it!"

Rick was up and heading down the corridor already, eyeing the guards' bodies. He knew these men were on his side—they were soldiers, and they were just doing their job did involve shooting at him. Rick picked two of the glocks, tossing one at Deadshot. Harley expectantly reached her hand out for her own gun back, but Deadshot smirked and walked on with it. This incited a string of curses from her.

Rick ran along the wall, surveying the numbered cells.

"It should be…this one! Deadshot-" Lawton caught up, aimed the pistol and shot at the lock. Both he and Flag then kicked at the door.

Inside, a huddled Captain Boomerang jumped.

"Oi, don't shoot me, mates! We had a good thing goin', I thought!" He paused for a moment, "This ain't some lead into mah surprise birthday party, is it?"

Deadshot side eyed Flag, "We don't _really_ need him, do we?"

"Hey, craziness!" Boomerang smiled, seeing past the boys towards Harley.

"You got caught agin?"

"Not yet, and I ain't plannin' on it!" She scolded. "So stop chit-chattin' and let's _go_ already! We got one more stop to make!"

"Two, actually," Flag countered. The three of them glanced at him.

"You said you wanted weapons, right?"

* * *

The Basement level was empty save for boiler rooms, support beams, and one lone cell. It was an empty level, as no guards ventured here. The alarms were continuing, but the group had apparently found luck, running into no guards save the three from before.

The luck ended when they found themselves outside of Croc's cell.

"Gang's all here," Croc growled, but he smiled nonetheless at Harley.

"Bullets ain't gonna work on this lock." Harley noted. "Speaking of..?"

Deadshot handed Harley's gun back to her like a kid getting their toy back after time out. For a brief moment she was pleased to be reunited, until she noticed the empty chamber.

"Aw, I left the others in the guards at the front!" Harley whined. Flag cringed.

They were all getting caught, and he was definitely going to jail.

"Can't the Croc just bust himself outta 'ere? These bars aren't no diff'rent that sum bones fer 'im, I imagine."

Croc snarled at Harkness.

Flag was glancing around, quickly looking for some solution.

It came in the form of four guards rounding the corner.

Harley's initial reaction was noticing the guns as a means to replacing her empty one.

"Perfect!"

Everyone else took note of the guns being directed at them.

"Run!"

The guards shot; Deadshot grabbing Harley and dodging out of the way. Harkness flung himself against the cell door of Croc's cell, trying to be guarded by the slight indention of the archway around the entrance way.

Flag squatted under the automatic fire, zig zagging a few steps before dodging behind a support beam with Harley and Deadshot.

"What happened to 'put your hands up', huh? Why they on shoot to kill on sight mode?" Harley snapped, flinching as bullets flew too close for comfort by her shoulder.

Flag and Deadshot exchanged a look.

"If Waller knew what was happening, she'd press the button. And Belle Reve has some dirt bags, but none with this good of firepower."

Flag nudged his head, "Then I guess they're not Waller, and they're not Belle Reve."

"So the list of people who hate us enough to kill us just goes up, huh?" Deadshot muttered.

Harkness, meanwhile, was facing the cell, pressing himself against the bar, when he took notice of something.

"Oi, KC? Mind, ah, lending me that there," he nodded towards the TV Killer Croc eyed him for a moment, then nodded understandably. Croc stepped up to his companion of these few months, hefted it from the wall, and smashed it to the ground. Shards of glass and screws scattered around the cell, into the water. Croc lifted a particular piece of plastic, eyeing it before handing it through the bars to Boomerang.

"This do?"

Digger shrugged.

"I can work with it."

Harley, biting her lip behind the pillar still, peered around the column briefly. The guards were approaching, still opening fire. Before ducking back, she took note of their S.W.A.T uniforms.

"Belle Reve couldn't have gotten SWAT here _that_ quickly. Staff is briefed that the response time is eighteen minutes for support like this. These guys _ain't_ SWAT. They're _phonies_."

Harley lifted her bat, jumping from behind her cover in time to knock one of the men hard in the chest.

"I _hate_ phonies!"

Deadshot and Flag both rushed two other guards, grabbing at their guns. Deadshot pulled his glock on the guard, aiming at the throat below the face shielding of the helmet. Flag struggled with his guard, but managed to twist them to use the man as a shield against the fourth guard who was unoccupied in battle.

Deadshot quickly shot him down.

Harley had tripped her guard up, and as he fell to his hands she kicked her boot upwards, knocking him in the face.

She shrugged her shoulders at the four bodies, picking up the remaining two guns. She tossed one at Boomerang, who was just peeking out from his sheltered archway.

"Pussy."

"Yeah, well…someone had to free the beast."

To the amazement of everyone except himself, Harkness had managed to pick the lock of the cell with the television piece.

Croc stepped from the cell, while Harley nodded approvingly.

"Guess you really did go through some school, huh?" Deadshot teased.

"I'm doubtful that was all of them. Harley, you got some kind of getaway?" Flag broke ino the conversation.

Harley pondered a moment, "I kinda crashed it through the gates to get in…If we can fish it outta the bayou, I think it'll run."

"You really are crazy. _No_ _plan_. At _all_?!" Deadshot exclaimed, amazed.

"Doesn't matter. I have a ride. She's out back, or at least she should be. Who knows if whoever these guys are caught up to her."

* * *

Griggs hated this job. Explosions, alarms, gunfire—he could faintly hear it all and it just made him sink further in his chair. He'd switched the cameras off, and wasn't requesting back up or reporting any of the action. He'd left tips around to most of the staff to ignore whatever happens. He didn't even know what was going to happen, and still didn't.

But, as much as he hated his job of warding these criminals, it was infinitely better than being in a cell as one.

An online blackjack game was currently loaded on the screen. He was losing—always—and was debating breaking into the savings account of his sons' when the phone rang.

"Belle Reve, Officer Griggs. What can I do ya?"

"This is Amanda Waller."

Griggs cursed under his breath, frantically sitting up as if Waller could see him. This woman was a nightmare that he'd had to interact with more than he'd have liked lately due to her Taskforce X.

"I'm calling to question a particular visit reported. Floyd Lawton, two days ago, by Colonel Rick Flag."

Damn, Griggs thought. Flag must've done something to piss Waller off if she was tracking his moves like this. No wonder he wanted Griggs to cover for him for the day.

Well, he said to just do his job…

Griggs scratched at his head, recalling the visit.

"Ah, yeah…something about a break-up letter. The Colonel got dumped? Probably needed to remind himself that his life could be worse—paid a visit to Lawton. It'd cheer me up."

Waller was quiet on the other end of the line.

"Where's Lawton now?"

"In his cell, just like the rest of them." Hypothetically, Griggs shrugged.

"Report to me if that changes." Waller snapped, and the line went dead.

Griggs shook his head, hanging the land line up.

"I hate this job _so_ freakin' much."

* * *

Katanna stood outside the car, sword in hand, with two bodies at her feet; also dressed as S.W.A.T.

"あなたがそう長くかかったもの?"

Flag shrugged. "You know…catching up, old friends. 'See you made some yourself."

Katanna glanced at the team, noticing Harley among them.

"You're back," she spoke, nodding.

Harley's smile widened, "Same to be said about you sista!"

"Car, _now_ , ladies; catch-up, _later_ —bad men inside trying to kill us, _remember_?"

* * *

It was a crammed ride in the back of a van with no seats. Croc sat in the corner, with Boomerang across from him. Deadshot sat with his back to the driver's seat, Flag behind the passenger's. Harley had called shotgun while Katanna drove.

For about a minute, the drive was quiet.

Suddenly, Harley perked up.

"Oh! I almost forgot! I~ brought a gift for all of you!"

Harley unbuckled her heeled boot, pulling a small phone device from within it. She checked it briefly, noticing no cracks, and turned it on.

The screen lit up as an exact replica of Flag's detonator app.

"How'd you..?"

Harley cackled, proudly, and with a few swift presses, the red outlines of the team, updated to no longer include the fallen or Harley herself, switched the green.

Everyone touched at their necks, Boomerang practically scratching at his.

Flag snatched the device from Harley, comparing it to his own, strapped at his arm.

"You disarmed the bombs? _How_?"

Harley shrugged, "Since the doctor who designed the bombs died in the crash in Midway, when I thought my Puddin' died too…" Again, her voice hitches slightly to Deadshot's ears only, " _Well_ , I still had an explosive in my neck. So, first thing I did when I got out was raided his notes—weren't too hard to read, being a doctor myself," She smirked proudly, " _Anyway_. So, I tracked down some people who could replicate the coding and the signal, had them whip up this device for me, and now I got the same power that the Wall has!"

Flag shook his head.

"She has the ability to reactivate the bombs. A failsafe. We need to get rid of those bombs. Permanently."

Harley smirked, "That, I can also help with!" But her smile faded a bit, and she looked towards the window, contemplating something.

Flag still was staring at the device, nearly identical to his. He rolled up his sleeve, comparing the devices. Harley's could deactivate the bombs—Flag could arm them and set them off, but to disarm them was doable only by a link to the system from the tech department that created the bombs.

With one phone call, Waller could have the bombs be reactivated.

They had to get to Waller and stop her before she could have a chance to make the call.

Flag rotated the device over in his hand, eyeing something on the back that appeared abnormal. This device was nearly identical to his own, save for what looked like a chip-

A tracker.

Flag slammed to device on the ground of the van, taking the rifle he'd grabbed from the fallen S.W.A.T impersonator, and smashed at the screen.

"Hey! What're you _doin_?!"

"That device was bugged. Those _guards_ back at Belle Reve that showed up the same time as you? They were tracking you. _You_ were their target."

Harley's face sunk at the realization.

Deadshot watched the scene while everyone else starred on in disbelief at their destroyed freedom.

Flag threw his arm up, showing his own detonator.

"Waller can reactivate the bombs—this detonator won't do anything, but it'll show me when the bomb has been activated. Right now, no one's head is exploding, so we can assume Waller isn't aware of your break out—yet. She'll find out, though, so we're against time." Flag lowered his arm, sighing.

It was Deadshot who finally spoke up, "Tell them, Flag."

Harkness rolled his eyes, "This ain't another bloody mission yer lyin' to us bout agin, isit?"

Flag shook his head, "No. This isn't a mission. Ya'll are free. I was at Belle Reve today to ask each of you if you'd help me—I won't force you, I won't hold these bombs as a threat against you. I'll only ask you, and if you say no, you can walk."

Harley, still distracted slightly by the tracker, asked in a softer voice than usual, "What's the help ya want us for? Ain't you got military buddies? Waller could probably pull a few strings and make all your problems disappear."

"Waller is the problem." Deadshot answered.

Boomerang smiled, leaning forward. "Now I'm interested. We're taking the ol' bag out?"

Flag didn't deny, but for the most part just ignored Boomerang. He continued, "She's taken June."

Boomerang's smile fell this time, and everyone held a respective silence momentarily. They remembered their broken Colonel when he'd crushed the witch's heart and accepted a life without his love in it. After all that fighting, just to free her, he'd been defeated even when he'd won. He'd died, for a moment, with the witch when he thought June had, too.

They knew what the girl meant to him.

"Why'd Waller do it?" Harley asked. "She ain't the witch again, is she?"

Flag grit his teeth. "Honestly…I don't know."

He told them everything. Because by now they were a team and he didn't lead them blind anymore. He told them what had happened, when he'd last seen June, and then about the letter. And then he spoke of Enchantress, and her appearance and the flicker of her magic. He swore she was trying to tell him something, or get his attention. He tells them how Enchantress was in his dream, and how she screamed that "she's killing us".

When his story was over, the van remained quiet.

"So, you know everything. It's all speculation—dreams and visions. The worst kind of basis of a job that could get ya killed. I don't know where they are. I don't know for sure that Waller has her. And I don't have a way of stopping those bombs in your neck once Waller realizes you're missing. So, you can leave, and find some way to get rid of them—follow Quinn here to wherever she says can do the job—but… I'm asking if you'd help me… save June." He finishes, trailing off.

"I already said yes," Deadshot interjects.

Rick looks at him, his eyes slightly welling, as if to ask a final " _Are you sure_?"

Harley shrugged. "If Deadshot goes, then it's a party, an' I don't wanna miss the fun!" She feigned a smile.

Croc nodded, "I'm in."

Katanna smirked in the back view mirror. Boomerang noticed, and sighed. "Alright, ya crazies. Band's back te'gether an' we're all gonna die any second anyway once the Wall realizes, so why not die surrounded by…" He stops at the word 'friends', because they're not.

They're the Suicide Squad.

* * *

June inhales sharply and exhales slowly. They're at the entrance. GQ stands beside her, with no weapon or defense at all. Diablo stands at her other side; he _is_ the defense.

 _ **"Sister."**_

"He's just inside," June murmurs, Incubus' booming voice resonating in her head.

"The plan again?" GQ asks, not letting his nerves show quite as much as June.

June shook her head.

"Draw the symbol on everything with anything."

GQ nodded, hesitantly, while Diablo stepped forward.

"Let's get you home."

"- _Us_ home," June reminds them.

Inside, the temple is just as rich and brilliant and eccentric as outside. It's polished and jeweled and the architecture is everything June ever dreamed of realizing. There's pottery and columns and crafted sculptures that June only has ever seen relics of. But, her attention gets pulled away rather quickly when she spots their target, standing at the center of the grand entrance.

It's Incubus.

Except, it's a man. A simple, bald man in a suit who looks haggard and sweaty and so out of place.

"Please…" The man begs, and June remembers. This is the vessel of Incubus. He was trapped in this dimension, too.

GQ steps forward, but June shouts at him, " _Don't_!"

"Please…" The man grovels again, stepping forward. Diablo takes a defensive stand.

June looks around quickly. There's no ink or chalk or powder. She bites her lip, thinking—dust? Fabric? Leaves? What could be used-

 _ **"Let me return to my sister..."**_

June jumps, because the man is caving in on himself, his skin and body mangling and morphing into the familiar monster that is Incubus. Diablo lights his fists once again and GQ throws an arm in front of June.

 _ **"Bring me to my sister..."**_

June's shaking her head.

"You can't do it yourself?"

Incubus steps towards them, and June is desperate, trying to come up with a plan. Maybe just walking in and confronting Incubus wasn't even a decent _concept_ of a plan."

 _ **"The ritual…"**_

Diablo sprints forward, letting his flames grow and consume him. Incubus throws a defending punch, which Diablo catches, but Diablo's return kick has no effect on Incubus. They're at a standstill while GQ and June watch on helplessly.

"The ritual..?" June mutters to herself, thinking.

She envisions Enchantress, crumpled on the floor, trapped within those seals within June's body.

"-The ritual! It's a portal!"

"What?!" GQ yells, panicking.

"The ritual brought Enchantress back—the symbol is a rune for the ritual! It's some sort of…portal, or something! I think…" June looks around, grasping for anything. She heads towards a decorative pot, picking it up and slamming it against the golden walls. It shatters and she grabs the nearest piece with an edge.

Diablo and Incubus remain locked in arms, trying to push the other to the ground. Diablo struggles, but GQ's concern is directed towards June when she slits her forearm.

" _June_?!"

She starts with a circle, then adds a few cuts through and around it. She nearly completes the symbol, with one final mark missing, but stops and instead grabs GQ's arm.

"Do you believe in me?" She asks.

She's frightened because she thinks this is the way back, but she isn't sure it'll work. She's not sure if they'll all make it back, or only one, or none.

She's scared but she doesn't hesitate to carve her arm up or charge into the temple of a demi-god or partake in some witch ritual that is beyond his comprehension with portals and pagans and dimensions and death. She acts like a soldier.

GQ sees why Flag fell in love with her.

"I do."

"Then we need to get to Diablo. Hold onto me, and _don't_ let go!"

GQ nods and grips her hand. They sprint at Diablo, who from the corner of his eye catches sight of them.

"Stay back!" Diablo screams. He's losing to Incubus again.

They're mere yards away. "Diablo, let go of Incubus!"

Diablo hesitates, but kicks Incubus' leg out from under him. They both trip, but Diablo catches himself enough to turn. He immediately outstretches his hand.

GQ lets go of June's arm, gripping her shoulder and diving with her. With her hands free, she brings the bloodied clay edge to the arm that reaches for Diablo. Just as the object pierces her arm in the final marking of the rune, she clasps her hand around Diablo's, feeling the searing burn of grabbing a flame.

And then they're gone.

* * *

Flag leads the crouching line-up. Behind him trails Deadshot, then Katanna and Boomerang, with Croc and Harley making up the caboose.

"You sure about this?" Flag asks, uneasily, Deadshot.

"My sources never let me down before. Satellites track her phone to this facility—it matches up as an ARGUS facility. Two and two, you know?"

Flag nods.

Lawton has his ways of finding targets, and no matter how off-book Waller thinks she is, her phone and it's calls between Rick were traced and recorded somewhere out in the world. And if it exists, it can be dug up and exploited.

The drive was long, and between shifts with Katanna for driving and sleeping, it'd taken a little over a day to cross to this part of the country. East Coast, a facility under ARGUS shareholder names and reportedly abandoned for ten months now, due for demolition. This had to be the place.

Katanna had surprised them all with gifts of her own—while Flag had been consulting Lawton, she'd ran through the storage room again and swiped a few tools she expected the squad would need. Deadshot was disappointed that Katanna couldn't carry his suit, but his scope and mask and arm guns were still something to be grateful to have. Boomerang was ecstatic to find Katanna had snagged his entire collection and its case, which he'd proceeded to holster through the jacket Flag had provided.

Flag had stolen them from the barracks' locker rooms. The clothes were ill fitting on everyone, particularly Croc who already had ripped the tank Flag had supplied him, but it was better than prison orange clothes. Even came with Kevlar.

So from behind a wired fence, the squad looked on a seemingly dark and empty facility. Two guards posted at each entrance, gate and door and four more on the roof.

Flag turned back to relay the plan.

"KC and Boomerang, you take care of the gate guards. Harley, you're with me and Katanna—we're taking the fence along the west side, cleaning up as many on the ground as we can. Deadshot, the roof is all yours."

"What, no inspiring words?"

Flag thought for a moment.

"Shoot the bad guys and let's save June."

Deadshot nodded, wondering why he expected anything better out of Flag when it came to motivation or speeches.

"What're we waitin' for? An invitation?" Harley snapped. Flag threw up a signal and the group dispersed.

* * *

Katanna lead the trio on the ground, taking out two guards. A third guard took Harley's bat to the face and fell, only to be knocked completely out by the butt of Rick's gun. He wouldn't risk shooting without a silencer on such a sensitive stealth.

Lawton ran up to them, having claimed two guards on the roof, and finally Boomerang joined the group, looking out of breadth and disgusted.

"KC's a bloody monster," he spat, though he offered no more elaboration.

The entrance room was clear. The squad walked through, quietly, looking behind walls and in through windowed doors.

"Everything's dark. No one's here." Harley whined.

Flag held up a hand, signaling her to be quiet.

Faintly, he could hear it.

"It's a gospel!" Harley cheered, and again Flag shot her a look to keep her voice down.

The Squad crept down the hall towards the growing noise. It quickly became clear it wasn't gospel, or singing—it was a chant.

Flag felt a stone in his gut, and quickened his pace as the others followed behind.

At a point, the chanting died suddenly, and all was silent.

They came to the door, which Flag toggled at. It was locked.

Flag stepped back, aiming the rifle, but hesitated. Lawton stepped up beside him, whispering low enough for only the two of them, "You thinkin' of 'what if she's not in there'?"

Flag keeps his eye trained on the lock.

"No. I'm worried she will be."

He pulls the trigger.

* * *

Rick sets his soaked cap on the table, sighing. It's a miserable day and a miserable mission. Waller's mad, thinking of putting together a team based off of these…criminals.

June sits crossed-legged in the chair across from him. She smiles at him, and he feels some stress melt away. He proceeds to walk towards her and kneels down, pressing his head against the nook of her neck. She wraps her arms around his shoulders.

"You shouldn't have to do this."

"Do what?" She asks.

Rick looks up into her eyes.

"Be here. You shouldn't apart of this…team." He spits, because it's not a team. It's a sock full of firecrackers you throw through your neighbors window as a prank when you're thirteen years old and don't know any better.

She shrugs.

"Waller thinks something good can come of…her…"

Rick shakes his head, lifting himself and rest June's head in his hands. "Don't do that. Don't think your only value, your only worth, is her. You're amazing, June. And you deserved better than this."

June takes his hands in hers, blushing, before rising from her chair to meet his lips. His hands move down to her back and he kisses her with the same passion that he feels behind his words—he meant it. June shouldn't be possessed and she shouldn't be a part of this Taskforce and he would do anything—if there was a way to spare June from becoming a soldier, hardened and succumbing to Enchantress mission after mission…He could see it now, and he swore to God if June was lost to that monster he'd personally kill Waller.

June separates from him momentarily, smiling brightly, "I'll be fine. You'll be there with me, too, anyway."

For June, he'd do anything.

Even lead homicidal maniacs and psychos into the frontlines of battle.

* * *

When June breathes, there's an intense pain in her chest that makes her keel over. And as she does such, she realizes it's not her—its Enchantress. Enchantress has control of her body, but June has returned—she's there, as she always was, and can see and feel everything but can't control it. And her eyes adjust and she sees what Enchantress sees.

She sees GQ out cold beside her, and she sees Diablo on her other side, cooled down to his natural, human state, and trying to gather himself.

And when she looks up, she sees Incubus.

June's heart plummets.

He'd managed to grab hold of Diablo. He'd made it back to this world—both siblings had been reunited.

" _Brother!_ " Enchantress gasps. " _Brother, I am weak! I have no heart, and these humans bind me!_ "

" _ **I will set you free, sister. We shall be rid of this pain soon enough**_."

Incubus looked down towards Diablo, his hand rising.

" _No_!" June shouted, and amazingly enough, Enchantress did the same.

Incubus turns to her, confused.

Enchantress, irritated, tries to fight June's control, but without a heart at all, in or out of her body, she's too weak.

" _The girl…she wants them alive…"_

"W-we need them alive!" June yells at Enchantress, trying to reason with her.

" _Why_?" Enchantress hisses in June's mind.

"I am human. And I am your host. You can't take care of my body, but they can—they will keep me alive, which will keep you alive."

Enchantress hisses, looking between the two of them.

" _We only need one."_

" _No_!"

June wrestles Enchantress for control of her hands, and Enchantress, growing impatiently irritated, lacks the strength to keep the battle up long.

" _ **Sister, what ails you? Is it your heart?"**_

 _"It's the girl. We must keep the humans alive. They'll sustain this body for me until we can create a new heart for me."_ Enchantress looked about at the baffled chanters.

" _The others, however…"_

June felt weak, and no matter how much she struggled with Enchantress for control, she could do nothing to stop Incubus. He lashed out at the cultists, and in agonizing screams they seemed to crystallize before her eyes. A sight she was too familiar with, and one that haunted her.

And just as the chaos of screams erupted, so did gunfire. And the door swung open, and through Enchantress' vision, June saw him.

 _Rick_.

* * *

" _June_!"

She's pale and her arm is bleeding and charred at the hand. It's Enchantress in form, dress, and eyes, but it's also June. It's June's skin and face and somewhere in her own body, it is _June_. And maybe she's not so buried by Enchantress because at the sound of her name, of _June's_ name, she looks to him. And for a flicker- for a moment- her eyes aren't glowing embers of orange.

They're the bright eyes of June Moone.

And Rick notices nothing else, even as Deadshot throws Rick to the ground to dodge an attack from Incubus—Rick hardly even notices the monster's return. And he doesn't even get a good look at the two bodies nearest Enchantress— _June_ —but they're there and so is gunfire and boomerangs and suddenly everyone is engaging in a ranged fight against Incubus.

" _ **Enough! Sister, we can take our leave of here! I will lend you my strength, and the girl may keep the humans."**_

Enchantress' eyes (Flag swears they're Junes) stay on Rick, but her hands raise and wave.

Then the four are gone.

" _No!"_

June's gone.

* * *

 _Hide, hide, I have burned your bridges_

 _I will be a gun, and it's you I'll come for_

* * *

 **A/N:** I got the Art-of book and movie novelization (Cause I'm that obsessed, like send help)-there's a scene alluded to in both where June and Rick make out in an office at Belle Reve (She's seen standing under an umbrella when her, Rick and Waller first arrive and then she just disappears) and it's just really cute in both iterations so that's the lone flashback of this chapter...

With June and the dimension, I like the detail of Enchantress' runes on her body and how they actually move, and so I wanted to utilize the whole rune-on-body as what transfers everyone back from that alternate dimension (told ya we wouldn't stay there for long)-The thing is, though, that June didn't need Incubus at all for the ritual...Yeah, but since I'm he author I can make up the added fact that Enchantress, despite wounded and dying, was stubborn enough to not show June the trick of how to get home until she was close enough to bring Incubus back with her-he's kinda the extra magic that Enchantress needs. As with the Cultists, they definitely took a bite out of something too big for them to choose-they opened the portal to pull Enchantress back, but they didn't close it and that's what lead to June jumping between the dimensions and her pulling the other three with her.

Yay Diablo and GQ are back to life cause I said so. :p They also have a part to play in Enchantress and Incubus' plan and the story as a whole, so...

Harley, and really all the others, have side plots that I really need to start delving and introducing-there's been minuscule hints so far, and I wouldn't developed everyone more but this chapter just had...too much. And I almost broke this chapter up, except I loved the ending too much-Rick finally saw June, except she's Enchantress again, and then she's gone immediately. Again.

Gosh it's so late/early, I'm sure there's more about this chapter that I needed to clarify but just send me a PM or review or whatever if you have a thought or critique or anything! You guys are seriously the best-every alert I get that someone is following or favoring or reviewing this story kinda makes my day a thousand times better and I just really hope that with each chapter I don't let you guys down with whatever expectations you're getting of this story! Thank you!


	5. The Mother We Share

_This_ chapter was fun to write! I hope the tone doesn't shift too much though! More POVs are explored (briefly) and I tried establishing some relationships further in this story compared to earlier chapters...

Disclaimer: I own nothing, Titles of this fic and chapters are from the album of the same name by CHVRCHES, and this chapter has an f-bomb cause the Aussie, but it's a blink and you miss it~

Thank you again to EVERYONE just reading this fic! It makes me type these chapters up so much faster (prlly too fast...) I hope you enjoy this story further!

* * *

 _We've come as far_

 _As we're ever gonna get_

 _Until you realize_

 _That you should go_

* * *

Dr. Faust is speechless, falling backwards when the shadows amassed. And in an instant, they warped and three new figures had appeared in the room. The chanting stopped as every cultist present gazed upon what they'd accomplished (Of course, they assumed it was them).

Enchantress herself had changed, if only that she no longer was pinned to the ground. She sat up, and her breathing, while still raspy and pained, was softer. She felt more whole.

And Faust was baffled by the other figures. One stood tall, a metallic giant with armor around a core body of flaming stone that looked like a statue come to life. And beside Enchantress were two figures that looked… human.

How did such a portal bring forth this trio..?

The witch opens her mouth and for the first time Faust here's her voice, calling out to the one who stands above the others—the demon. They speak an ancient language, and the man's (he looks male enough to Faust) response is a deeper, more monstrous voice than Enchantress' herself.

He raises a hand at the human at his feet, but suddenly Enchantress yells out in defiance, and there's something about her voice this time—it's English; a clear and resounding ' _No'_.

Faust is so fascinated by the events before him—the accomplishment that he and his brothers have done today! After days of little to no sleep and food, and endless chanting until their throats were dry, they have summoned back Enchantress and this demon and Faust is imagining the possibilities of the state of the world now that these two stand before him, and a greed for power slips over Faust as he decides who is Waller to control these two? For no doubt she'll want the big one, too. But it was Faust and his brothers who did all the work—

Faust doesn't see Incubus' tendrils stretch out to him, and in a swift motion, Faust is gone.

* * *

Rick runs to where June was. Just _seconds_ ago.

 _She was here._

He stands, staring at the spot, before dropping to his knees.

Behind him, his team doesn't move. Harley shifts uncomfortably, glancing at Deadshot. But Deadshot's eyes are on Flag's back. Katanna sheathes her sword which she had previously drawn, muttering a prayer in Japanese.

Captain Boomerang is the first to speak.

"Was that the big guy? The brother? He's _back_ now?"

"Diablo and GQ," Croc growls, and the others realize he's right.

"They're dead, though…" Harley mutters. They all keep their voices quiet, waiting for Flag to inevitably explode.

Deadshot still says nothing, but finally steps forward to approach Rick.

When he reaches the soldier, he notes tears in the man's eyes; despondent and empty, Rick simply stares at the ground. Still fresh, splattered across the carved runes, is blood—June's. She had been bleeding. She'd been hurt.

Rick finally raises his eyes and looks around him. The chanters; the cultists are all crystallized and barely even identifiable as human.

 _Good riddance_ , Flag thinks. He's angry. He's furious. He picks his gun up and holds the trigger, emptying the chamber into the ceiling. And the same time, he lets out a low, blood-curling scream of anguish and desperation and _pain_.

When the rifle empties, he tosses it and he bows his head to the ground. He was _this_ close.

He _saw_ her.

 _She was right here._

Deadshot squats beside Flag, and in a low voice, "C'mon, Flag. We gotta go."

"Where?" Flag retorts, his voice broken and his shoulders slumping. _Does it matter? Where do they go from here? This was his only lead. June could be_ anywhere _and_ -

"We'll figure something out," Floyd mutters. He looks back at the group, standing and waiting. They all look lost without Flag's leadership and confidence. They all came here for him, to help him save June…

" _Boys_ , we got company!" Harley yells, and everyone throws their eyes to the corner of the room, where a door has just opened and a figure has stepped forward.

Amanda Waller.

Boomerang winces under his breath, "Bloody can't catch a break, can we?"

Flag is on his feet immediately. In one quick action, he snatches the gun from Deadshot's hand and aims it directly at Waller, approaching her with large steps and a fast pace to cover the distance between them.

Waller just as quickly holds up her device, with the faces of the Taskforce, save for Quinn, in a row. Flag keeps the barrel trained on her, but she's unflinching. Her face doesn't read fear, and it just angers Flag further.

"Give me one good reason not to blow your head right now. _Right now_!"

His voice echoes in the hangar.

Amanda ignores Flag, looking past him at the team. "I'm holding it right here."

"The bombs are deactivated. You'd have to call the lab itself to reset them, and you're damn crazy as Quinn if you think I'll give you that chance."

Waller tries to read his face, to see if he's bluffing, but he's not, and confidently the team stands behind him, crossing their arms defiantly.

"Try again." Lawton offers.

Waller still continues to look beyond Flag; at the team, the cultists. She must have been watching somewhere, a feed of what had happened. Did she know Incubus would be summoned, too?

"Lady, I wouldn't stall and would just answer his question if I were you." Harley snaps from across the room.

"Why'd you do it?" Flag flares. "Why'd you kidnap June and bring that _witch_ back?! You had her here- _for days_! You _tortured_ her! _Why_?!"

"Because we need her power-"

Rick takes one step forward and the nozzle of the gun touches Waller's forehead. The others jump, but Deadshot calls out, "Flag, _wait_!"

"You lied to June…you tricked her to coming here and you summoned that witch back in her…because you wanted that _power_ —the power that killed _thousands_ and wants nothing but to _destroy_ and claim the world—and you dragged June into this _freak_ _show_ all over again-!"

"-Enchantress and Dr. Moone are connected. They're bonded; if there was anyone Enchantress could be returned into, it was her."

"How is Enchantress even back? Didn't we break her heart?" Harley asks from behind Flag. She motions crumbling the heart with her fingers.

"Enchantress and her brother don't die. They came from and return to another dimension. These…" Waller motions to the corpses, barely identifiable as such anymore, "men, were able to summon her back. She's weak without a heart, but _they_ swore they could create one. Instead, they seemed to just keep the portal open long enough for Incubus to break out, too."

"You should've left them in that dimension," Flag snarls, clicking the safety off and pressing his finger lightly on the trigger.

"-I know where she'll be." Waller blurts.

Deadshot throws his hands in the air. "Like we're going to believe you."

"She still needs her heart. She'll return to where the first was crafted."

"The temple…" Flag mutters. He smirks, _unbelievable._ "You always have a card up your sleeve. Even when you're backed into a corner…Why do we need you, though? June told me all about the temple—I could find it without you. So I could shoot you, here and now, find June, and still sleep like a kitten."

Deadshot's hand lands on Flag's shoulder.

"No," he shakes his head. "Don't do it. You're the soldier, remember? Not a killer. That's _our_ jobs, remember?"

Flag looks at Deadshot, briefly, and wants so badly to convince himself that he could do it—he could kill Waller. For _June_ , he'd become anything.

But, he doesn't resist when Lawton pushes the rifle down. Lawton instead raises his own arm, aiming his magnums at Waller, his eyes trained on her.

"But I am."

"- _wait_!"

Flag's head is bowed, looking at the gun, but he shakes his head. His mind is clearing, and while the anger still boils, he can't bring himself to do it. He can't sentence Waller to death. Not yet.

"We'll bring her."

" _Why_?!" Harley interjects.

"I'm with Looney Tunes on this one, Flag," Boomerang nudges.

"Because she has resources," Flag looks up, "and she can get us there to rescue June."

"What if she gets away?"

"She makes any move that we don't approve of, we shoot her. We don't need her resources _that_ badly."

Waller seems to release her held breath that she'd been holding at this declaration.

"Another reason we're bringing her with us. She gets out of our sight, she'll blow the nanites."

"All the more reason to shoot her," Croc growled back.

"No," Flag shook his head, still looking at Waller with hatred that burned through her, "because she's going to come with us. And she's going to see what she's unleashed by bringing the witch back into this world. And after it's all over, and we _save June,_ the world is going to learn about this. _All_ of it. That, I _promise_ you."

Deadshot slowly lowers his arm, grabbing at Waller's arm to push her forward as Rick leads the team out of the room. He refuses to look back to where June had been.

 _She'd_ just _been there._

* * *

June stares at her hands, watching water run off them and wondering if and when, at any moment, they'll morph into the hands of Enchantress. The warm water is now running cold against her back, it's been so long, and she jumps, startled, when there's a knock on the bathroom door.

" _Ma'am_? Everything alright?"

"Y-yes!"

June shuts the water off and quickly robes. When she exits the bathroom, the same soldier who stirred her from her reverie—the one who helped her from the tub—is standing by the balcony door. He glances at her, completely unabashed that she's half naked, a point she didn't even occur to feel embarrassed about.

She felt stripped and vulnerable the moment Enchantress had possessed her, and her concern now was more frantically to answer the soldier's call. Besides, he's already seen her in this state when he saved— _found_ her, she reminds herself; she'll never be saved from _this_ —and what use is modesty now if she's being torn apart as a person from the inside?

"Did you need me?"

He doesn't immediately respond, before suddenly jumping at the question, "N-no, ma'am, I was just checking in on you." He nods, as if signaling she's free to go—to dress—and she slowly nods, turning.

"Ah, actually, ma'am-"

"-June." She cuts him off. "Please, Colonel, just…call me June." She smiles, but it's soft and sad, and he feels a pang of pity towards her as she continues on, softly, "Everyone keeps calling me 'ma'am' o-or 'Dr. Moone' or ' _witch'_ …I would just like to be called by my name."

"June." He offers and her smile is a bit more genuine when she looks up at him.

"I…I know you might not want to talk about this, but…I have so many questions."

June nods; _of course he does_. So does she.

"I'll answer anything you ask." Because that's all she does these days— _interrogations, interviews, demonstrations…_

He sees her expression, and he holds back. "Another time."

She's genuinely surprised by this, and he bows his head at her a quick goodnight.

"I'll be one room over if you need anything."

She nods, this time turning to clothe, but he hesitates as he crosses the room and adds, "Rick."

She glances back at him.

"My first name is Rick. Or Flag, if that's more comfortable for you. Just…not Colonel."

And a wave of relief washes over her as she nods, "Thank you, _Rick_."

His name in her voice sounds angelic, and he has to shake his head to clear it once he's in the hallway.

* * *

June hits the stone on her hands and knees. Except she's still Enchantress. Beside her, GQ is still out, but Diablo is lifting himself. Incubus raises his hand, warning the meta-human to stay down.

Enchantress recognizes this place. It was once her palace; her temple. She was worshipped here, and then imprisoned. And it's in ruins now.

Incubus kneels by his sister, placing his hand on her chest. June winces, but then she feels his magic fill her and some of the pain resides. He can't replace her heart, but he can sustain her without the runes. Enchantress breathes the first painless breadth, but she still struggles at the effort.

She tries to stand, but her body is weak and she falls. Oddly enough, it's GQ who springs up to catch her. He feels dirty just touching the witch, but he knows June is somewhere in there— _this is still June_ , he reminds himself.

Enchantress hisses at him, but June's eyes give away her gratefulness. GQ leans her back, and Diablo suddenly stands between the duo and Incubus.

"Why'd you bring us here?"

" _The girl is the only reason you are alive_ ," Enchantress answers. It takes its toll to speak, but she brushes it aside. " _Keep her—_ us _—alive, and my brother won't kill you_."

GQ looks to Diablo, concerned. "We don't know how to heal a witch…"

" _Leave_ that _to my brother._ You," Enchantress nods to GQ, " _will sustain this body. Heal its wounds and tend to it—my magic is weak and I can't save the dying girl inside as I could at full power_."

Incubus looks to Diablo.

 _"_ _ **I remember you."**_

Diablo cracks his fist, preparing for a fight if it comes to.

 _ **"You will serve me in recreating my sister's heart. She needs sacrifices to feed it."**_

Without warning, waves of energy and magic is released from Incubus' hand, and GQ and Diablo both cringe as it hits them. Enchantress buckles over, affected too, but doesn't seem too concerned when the tingling stops.

"What'd you do?!" Diablo yells.

 _ **"I linked you."**_

" _If anything happens to me, you both will die. We are all connected. Now, do our biding and we may spare you when we have returned to power."_

Diablo, still standing, feels his skin glowing hot with anger.

"Where's June? Prove she's still alive and alright. We died once, we're not afraid to do it again."

Enchantress snarls, but humors the humans. " _If she was dead, the body would be useless to me. I would fade. As long as I am here, so is she."_

"Alright," GQ is the first to speak up. "We don't really have a choice," he looks back to Diablo. Diablo doesn't nod, but silently he knows GQ is right. There is no choice or debate in the matter.

Incubus turns away from the trio, calling back, " _ **Human. Bring my sister**_."

GQ obediently lifts Enchantress, hauling her after Incubus, who motions for her to be settled on a platform of sorts. It's a raised, rusted, sacrificial table and Enchantress tremors as she's laid out.

"She needs food. And water," GQ adds. He looks at June's arm, still burned and bleeding. "Some medicine…"

" _ **You**_." Incubus turns to Diablo. " _ **You will kill in my sister's name, and feed souls to the creation of her heart.**_ "

Diablo defiantly puts his foot down. "I won't kill for you, or for anyone else, _hombre_."

Incubus reaches a hand out, and suddenly GQ and Enchantress both are curling in on themselves in pain.

" _Brother..?"_ Enchantress cries out, in pain. Somewhere within her cries, June, too, is crying.

Diablo grinds his teeth.

" _Stop_!"

Incubus drops his hands. GQ is panting and Enchantress is gasping for air.

"I'll…do it."

June, still recovering from Incubus' show of control over them, cries out, " _Don't_!"

Enchantress hisses at her, as the word escapes her physical form's mouth, and GQ and Diablo both take note—Enchantress doesn't have full control.

June is still in there, and she's fighting.

* * *

A private jet flies over the clouds with only a new moon to witness it in the night's sky.

Inside, each Taskforce member sits, to some degree, comfortably or uncomfortably, in seats facing each other. Waller sits in the back, confined to a corner. The Squad debated gagging her and binding her hands, but avoiding suspicion with the private piloting crew, they let her be. No phone or technology of any sort Is in her reach—Flag searched her twice.

Deadshot sits diagonally across the aisle, facing Waller, with his magnums directed at her should she take a step out of line. His uniform has been returned to him, generously by a begrudging Waller who had the team's equipment sent to meet them at their plane deck. Harley sits across from him, her back to Waller, and she looks the most home in the cushioned seats, spooning at the ice cream offered.

Croc sits, queasy, across the aisle from Waller in the back, nearest the bathrooms. Boomerang sits up front, across from Katanna, who he already had implied a 'mile high club audition' to on three separate occasions.

Rick sits alone at the very front, his back to them all, and his mind lost in memories and worries of June.

Harley, bouncing in her seat, stares at Deadshot. Long enough so that he notices. " _What_?"

"I just was thinkin'."

She waits for him to ask about what, but when it doesn't come she rolls her eyes. He humors her.

" _About_ what?"

"Well, it just is kinda hard to believe. First, that I came back and we're our own little messed up family again, and now Enchantress is back…I mean, who'da thought when we met him that Sergeant Soldier up there would have such a soft spot for a gal, and that's we're literally chasing across the globe for her."

Deadshot thinks on it a moment before answering, "Why did you come back?"

Harley wasn't really expecting him to ask.

"I missed you guys of course, silly~!"

Deadshot smiles, shaking his head.

"Yeah, but what about the Joker. You miss him a helluva lot more."

Her smile falters slightly, and it's not the first time Deadshot has caught it doing so.

"I told you, a girl's gotta have her freedom to hang with her friends from time to time-"

"-Harley. Quit the bullshitting."

Her face freezes for a moment, debating spilling the truth or not, before obstinately dodging the question.

"How's your little girl? She growing up before your eyes, huh?"

Deadshot nods, but he's not smiling at the thought of his daughter. He's still looking at Harley, persisting she answer him honestly.

Harley sighs, "Alright—alright. We had a fight. It was getting tense, so I left him! I mean of course I'll go back and we'll make up—he probably misses me _so_ much, realizing what he had!"

"Denial and misdirected blame, especially towards yourself, is a sign of an unhealthy relationship."

Harley snorts. "We ain't a 'healthy relationship'. And who are you, Dr. Phil? I know my Puddin', and he cares for me like I care for him."

"Girl like you, seems pretty finicky. Getting' bored of his act or something?"

Harley slams her hands on her chair arms, "Never! Puddin' and me are perfect! There's no one else in the world for me but him—He made me what I am!"

"And that's what exactly…? A big girl in a big bad world who can take care of herself? He feel the same? He went through all that trouble to win you back before, so what would stop him this time?"

"Exactly," she cocks her head to annoy him, agreeing just to shut his smugness up.

"I see. He can't live without you, and you can't live without him. It's _love_ , right?"

"Of course it is," she says, but there's a hesitation.

Deadshot slowly nods. "So what? No phone this time? No texts, begging you to come home?"

Harley fidgets.

"I told you…I needed space."

Deadshot leans back in his seat. "You ask me, you need a new boyfriend."

Harley flushes at this, growing angry and snapping back, "No one asked you though, _did_ they?!" She abruptly stands and heads a seat back to sit by Croc. Deadshot stares after her for a moment before glancing out the window.

* * *

"How's the, uh, hubby doin' in there?" Boomerang asks, nodding towards Katanna's sword.

She glances from the window to him, but doesn't respond.

He'd been quiet for nearly an hour, and she'd preferred that. Guess too much of a good thing _is_ too hard to ask for.

"C'mon, you don't have to make this a silent trip."

"I'd prefer it that way." She flatly rejects his offer at conversation.

Boomerang nods, _typical_ , and leans back. He squints at the clouds, then leans forward again towards Katanna.

"Do you ever envy him?" He nods back to Flag, speaking in a hushed tone. Katanna turns to look at Digger again, but this time genuinely confused about his question. "Y'know, cause he had a chance to…Nah, never mind," and he leans back, scratching at his nose.

Katanna, begrudgingly, finds herself curious.

" _What_?"

Digger hesitates- a rare thing for Harkness to hesitate speaking his mind blatantly and offensively-before continuing, "He had a chance to save his girlfriend. And yeah, maybe now she's possibly gonna die, but before at least. And then Crazy-Quinn over there thought her Jello or whateve' the hell she calls him was dead, then his springs back up from the dead and busts 'er outta prison. And with, y'know, Diablo and the SEAL comin back…it just seems a little unfair, _don't_ it? Everyone gets these second chances—gets to be with the ones they love—and you and your…" he trails off, glancing at the sword.

Katanna is rather stunned by Harkness' words, but refuses to answer them.

"I'm just saying…I don't see how the world can be so unfair te ye and still you refuse to turn and give it the finger." He shrugs, smirking, "I mean, I find it's funner that way. You see everyone else with their silver spoons an' yours is wooden, but you don't settle with it. Ye stab the bugger and take his spoon. Yours now."

Katanna glares.

"And how was life so unfair to you?" She asks, struggling with her accent to keep her comfortable asking, but all too late it's out her mouth. Boomerang looks away from her.

"It ain't all Kangaroos and surfin' in the Outback, babe."

"So what? _That's_ it? Tough childhood, so you kill and plunder because life is _unfair_?!"

Boomerang shows a rare show of sobriety, leaning in and matching Katanna's tone and somberness, "Life's a bitch, but she's the mother of all of us. You get burned enough, you burn back. Pretty soon, no flames can touch ya. Have I ever thought of going clean? Not a chance. I love my life and what I do."

"You gave in." she spits.

"Nah. I gave up. Gave up giving a fuck about life cause when'd it ever care about me? And I'm all smiles since!" He spreads his arms out, wide accompanied with a grin. Katanna, disgusted, turns away from him.

Still, his words bother her, because laced in them is less of a coward, and more of a broken man. A man, or even a boy, who never was given a taste of what good life could provide, even if it could take it all away, too. She'd known love with her husband.

Boomerang knew nothing but struggle.

He doesn't know love.

* * *

June feels the tethers of GQ and Diablo's life to her own. She feels suspended, once again, and she wonders if she will ever return to control of her body. Enchantress struggles and writhes, while GQ dabs at her with water. He's bandaged her hand and arm, though Enchantress' thrashing reopens the wounds. GQ winces sometimes, feeling just a pinch of the pain June's body is going through. June looks at him with guilt—it's her fault he and Diablo, and everyone are in this mess.

It's her fault for dreaming for months of Enchantress, and being drawn to this temple, and the cave. Unleashing the witch, and the disaster and lives that had been taken since.

And even when she thought it was all over, it wasn't. It never would be.

She thinks of Rick, telling her not to go with Waller. She should have listened.

She thinks of Rick in general, and of how for a brief moment she saw him. He'd come after her—he'd found her, only to be torn apart from him again.

She wonders if fate doesn't want them to be. Maybe she is meant to give in to Enchantress— _this_ is her destiny, not Rick.

Incubus stands nearby, with his back turned to the trio. His arms are raised and magic is being pulled from the earth—from below the temple, from outside. He's silent as he works, and stiffer than Enchantress.

GQ leans in, whispering, " _June_. June, I know you can hear me. _Don't_ give up. Flag will come."

Enchantress tries glaring at the SEAL, but she's in too much pain to speak. June knows GQ means to comfort her broken will, but it has the opposite effect. She doesn't want Rick to risk his life anymore for her. She wants him to live.

June silently prays Rick doesn't try to come after her again.

A tear trickles down Enchantress' eye—June isn't sure if it's Enchantress' or her own.

* * *

 _"Rick, I…it's me. I'm here and it's early, at least where I am. I don't know where you are, but…a-anyway, I was just calling in…in hopes I'd hear your voice. But, that's stupid and I'll see you soon enough…alright, well…I hope you're safe and alright and, yeah, I'll wait and see you again soon. I've been thinking about what you said; about anywhere…I might actually hold you to it. How's your Italian? I love you, Rick…"_

Rick plays the message over and over, listening to June's voice as she says his name, as she says _I love you_. He's trying not to think of how, at the time she sent this message, June's biggest concern, and his too, was where would they move to—escape to. And now they're wrapped back into the same bullshit as before…

He doesn't have a plan—He barely knows what he's up against and he doesn't know what he's doing. There isn't a heart to crush this time to banish Enchantress away. Enchantress is bound to June and June alone. To kill Enchantress is to…

And it's killing Rick, making him fidget. He hates not having a plan.

Harley materializes in front of him, sitting across from him and smiling widely.

"Ya miss her, huh?"

Rick scoffs. That's obvious.

"We'll save her, though. We stopped the witch before, we can do it again."

Rick finds it rather uncomforting that he's being comforted by the Queen of Crazy herself, but he nods slowly at her nonetheless.

" _Thanks_ ," he offers, and Harley's smile falls rather quickly in shock. Rather than tease him though, she launches into another question.

"Why're you doing all this? I get that you _love_ her, and Enchantress could _destroy_ the world and all, but—do you love her _that_ much?!"

"Yes." Rick doesn't even hesitate.

Harley mouths a simple, "oh".

"How'd you know?" She asks, looking past him down the aisle.

"When the thought of living without her became my greatest nightmare." He answers honestly, and it's a vulnerable moment that even Harley can't tease him for.

"How'd you know with the Joker?" He asks, not really wanting to know the answer but feeling like he owes it to her to ask. Harley smirks, "He showed me who I really am. Who I could be. He set me free, and I owe him everything…"

Flag doesn't respond immediately.

Finally, he sighs, standing to check on the pilot and their ETA.

Harley shrugs, curling her knees to her chest.

"You love who you love, I guess."

* * *

The jet lands two hours outside of their destination—actually, it lands two hours outside the village nearest their destination. Their real destination is two days into the jungle. Rick rents a jeep with a generous donation from Waller's wallet, and the team piles in. Locals and natives stare at the queer cast of characters, but no one questions them or provokes them. Not when Deadshot has several firearms hanging off his side and Harley Quinn looks like she could snap their necks just as well as kiss them.

Katanna and Croc settle in the back, with Rick driving. Between him is Waller, with Deadshot on her other side. Harley sits in the middle seat with Digger. No one feels talkative after the long plane ride.

Except Harley.

She always feels talkative.

"So what's the witch gonna make her heart out of? What does a witch's heart require? Eye of newt? Tail of puppy?"

"Got any ideas?" Lawton casually asks Waller, his magnums still directed at her temple.

She doesn't answer.

The weather is hot, humid, and the sun glares down on them. Digger groans every few minutes his discomfort.

"I thought you Aussies liked the heat?"

"And I thought you'd like to shut yer _mouth_!" He gripes back.

Croc growls, and whether it's his agreeance at the heat or his annoyance with Digger, no one questions to clarify.

Harley sighs, bored.

"Alright, well we'll play a game! Like a road trip! We're kinda on one anyway, aren't we?"

"We are not playing some damn road trip game," Deadshot shoots the idea down.

"I have a game. It's called 'guess th' Birthday'. I'll start—e'eryone troy to guess when mah birthday is!"

"April 1st," Deadshot deadpans.

Digger is genuinely concerned that's Deadshot's honest guess, and not just a joke.

"C'mon, mate—don't taunt me this way…"

"We could go aroun' and say who we lost our virginities to! I'll start—It was Will Foster, but then when Mr J rechristened me, it was of course my Puddin'!"

Digger rolls his eyes, disgusted.

"Well what do you wanna compare? Sure hope it ain't dick sizes cause you'd be in last!" Harley snaps

"And you'd have te' biggest one of all!" He slammed back.

"We'll turn this jeep around," Flag muttered.

"Hey, I know! This is kinda a dark time, what with us all about to die again—let's say our happiest memory!"

Digger snorts. "Is yours meeting Mr J?"

"Yes! No…" Harley thinks for a moment, then smiles, "No. My happiest memory is when Mr J set this little warehouse in Gotham on fire…He didn't do it for the Bat, or to get his attention…he did it for me. In my name…" Harley's voice lowers at the thought. Digger looks disgusted-still.

"He burned a building fer ya?"

"Well, it used to be this gym. I went as a kid to learn gymnastics—anyway, the coach said I'd never make it. I told Mr J the story, and he burned it down for me. All for me."

Deadshot nodded slightly. He'd heard of the Joker's obsession with the Bat. Maybe doing something not for his attention _was_ kinda special…

"-with the old coach inside, too."

" _Aaand_ there it is."

"Alright, I'll go. When I was a youngsta, no older than Craziness' IQ-"

"-I've got a PhD, ya realize, _Aussie_?!"

"-I went on a walkabout in the outback. Rite of passage. Took me four months. Happiest four months of my life. Peace. Quiet. Tranquility." Digger leaned back, and Katanna glanced at him briefly.

"Halloween, '86." Croc says, cryptically, but they all figure what it really means. A day where he wasn't a monster—he was one with the crowd.

Then again, if he's as twisted as Harley, it could also just coincidentally be a day he ate a particularly tasty person.

"The day Zoe was born," Deadshot muses.

"私の結婚式の日."

Deadshot glances at Waller.

"Does even the devil have feelings?"

Waller scoffs, but amazes them all by finally saying, "The day I outranked my first superior officer. He personally had to hand me my medal."

Croc nodded in respect.

Flag was the only one who remained quiet. Deadshot looked down the row at him, waiting expectantly, but not prying.

That was Harley's job.

"What about you, Flag? First day you shot a rifle? Day you made Colonel? Losing your virginity to June Moon Dune Buggy?"

Flag ignores her.

* * *

He knocks at the door, not expecting her to honestly answer.

There's soft steps, and sure enough she peaks it open.

 _Of course she has to,_ he reminds himself. It was made explicitly clear that she was always to be ready to be detained or on the move. She was more a package than a person of late.

Even in the slit of an opening, he can see she's been crying.

"Am I needed?" Her voice shakes.

"No- _no_ ," he quickly reassures her. He fidgets with his hands behind his back, "May I come in?"

She nods, and opens the door to let him in.

As he does, awkwardly stepping into the hotel room, he raises his hands.

"I…I brought wine. I thought you…well, you could use a drink. It's cheap," he reassures her.

It's not.

She smiles and heads towards the cabinets, looking for glasses. There's just water cups from the bathroom, and they both chuckle at that and his overlooking of that detail.

She holds out her hand, commenting the bottle is fine—that surprises him—and after a swig offers it back to him, declaring there's no way she's going to drink a whole bottle herself.

So, he drinks too, and he can taste her lips still on the nozzle—vanilla.

"You ok?" He asks, and she doesn't bother trying to lie, but she smiles and she sits on the edge of the bed with her hands in her lap. He joins her after a brief moment of weighing whether he should or shouldn't. He thought she'd need some comforting, after this afternoon. The demonstration didn't go too well-Enchantress wanted to stretch her legs a bit, test Waller's willingness to play with the heart. The questioning had been brutal afterwards. Waller had had to defend June's restrictions to a guard over being detained and vegetated to subdue Enchantress. June had sat in front of them all as they'd debated her own fate, without a word to offer in her defense.

She turns to look outside—it's too late for him to be stopping by her room, and they both know it but say nothing. He sighs, scrunching his nose up, and talks.

"My dad was a war hero…Decorated with every medal imaginable. Top of his class, top ranked, respected, well liked…the whole list, all checks." He swigs from the bottle a little too much, more than her, but she's not exactly holding back from indulging in the bottle either. She finally opens up, talking about her own parents. How they died less than a year apart her junior year of college. Missed her graduation by a month, and then she went on a scholarship to gain her master's and work towards her PhD.

He talks about school—how he hated it, but was thankful for it. Went to his dad's _alma mater_ , naturally. She tells him about a dog she used to have as a kid. She loves dogs, but this one hated her. He laughs and tells her bout his pickup truck. Then they both laugh because how'd they go from her childhood pet to his pickup truck?

"A busted piece-of-crap, too," he adds, and she laughs harder.

He doesn't know why he's sharing this all with her—all these personal stories he's buried—but then again he does know. It's clear on his face how he feels, no matter how much he denies it to himself. It's been a slow burn since the day he saw her, helpless in that tub yet strong enough to follow those she thought would help her. No matter what Waller put her through...

Damn. He loved this girl.

She tells him she's afraid one day she'll say Enchantress' name and she'll never come back. He asks her if they're one in the same, or two people in one body. She tells him it's hard to tell sometimes, how much Enchantress seeps into her own mind, but that they're two, not one. For now, she says.

 _Thank God,_ he adds.

"Maybe it would be better if they put me in some…cryosleep….suspension…Wouldn't it be safer for the world, if I wasn't around?"

"Maybe." He's honest. "But I don't want you to do that."

He tells her another story about his dad. One time, when he did something wrong and got the switch. She says it's unfair—it wasn't his fault.

He says she's beautiful. Ashamed, he looks straight ahead, unbelieving that he spoke out loud. The bottle is empty, tucked under his arm. They're both leaning back on the bed. He's being too abrupt, too honest, and he braces himself for her to ask him to leave.

"Are you going to kiss me or not?" She finally says, and when he looks at her he recognizes that it's not just him—this whole time, it wasn't just him falling for her.

She fell too.

He leans in, and she crosses her body over his and they kiss.

* * *

"-Flag, _watch out_!"

Flag veers all too late as flames jump out at the jeep. It screeches and drives off road, headed for a ditch.

There are screams and embers in front of them, and nearly everyone takes a tumble.

Katanna jumps off, rolling safely aside. Harley goes flying into the brush, Digger falling directly on top of her before she shoves him off. Croc tries to grab onto the jeep, but this just pulls it with him and together they flip.

Flag holds onto the wheel as long as he can, but when the roof of the jeep is touching the ground, he falls out and it continues upright without him. Deadshot falls on Waller, but she's agile—more so than you'd expect. She kicks him and his grip is gone and out the jeep he falls.

Croc leaps off, falling to his knees, and with no hesitation, Waller takes the wheel and throws the car into reverse. She's back on the road, and only half the team even notices as the other half is too stunned and horrified at the sight before them.

An entire village on fire, with locals running for safety. And at the center of the flames,

Diablo.

* * *

Enchantress convulses, twisting in pain. GQ looks between her and Incubus—Incubus is too distracted to notice. Something new is pouring in through the openings of the temple—it's not magic.

It's souls, GQ realizes. He doesn't know how or why, but souls are entering the mix and there's a glow of green forming like a fire in front of Incubus. GQ can feel heat and wonders if it's the connection he and Enchantress/June share with Diablo. _Is this Diablo's doing..? Is this what Incubus has sent him to do?_

GQ grips Enchantress' arm. The wounds are opening—she's moving too much, disturbing them.

" _Please_ , June—June, you have to calm down. Please!"

Inside, June is screaming. She can feel Diablo's pain—the guilt. He never wanted to take a life again. He has no choice—Incubus is forcing him through magic, all because of his bond to her. June has to stop this.

She tries to focus through Diablo's pain, and GQ's panic, and Enchantress' suffering—she tries to focus and find the threads that tie them together.

And with enough concentration, she can see them—she can feel their bonds. She reaches out and one feels on fire.

Diablo's.

She wants to reach for them both, but her strength is weak and she can barely grasp tangibly to Diablo's binding to her.

She grips both hands and pulls.

Mentally, she yanks at the magic, tugging at it to snap.

She can feel Diablo at the end of the tether, and he recognizes through this gut feeling that it's June. June is trying to break him free.

" _I told you…I'd…bring us all back_!" June smiles through her tears, and she commends herself on keeping her promise. Now, she quickly makes another.

 _I'll free you, Diablo!_

It's painful, like her own limbs are burning, and GQ feels it too. He topples to his knees, gripping his head. Enchantress' screams grow, until finally Incubus notices.

" _ **Sister? Sister, what is she doing?! What is happening?!"**_

Too late.

The bond snaps.

Echoes of Diablo's screams fade until they're gone, and any trace of his connection to June and GQ and Enchantress and Incubus are gone.

" _ **No!"**_

* * *

Flag dives and rolls to get as close to Diablo as he can.

" _Diablo_ , stop this!"

Diablo is screaming, looking directly at Flag with his arms outstretched as if being pulled. His flames are ransacking the village, and lifting from the burning houses and charred corpses is a strange green light. Harley follows it with her eyes as it disappears into the forest.

"Diablo!" Deadshot yells, his magnums pointed at his lost friend, "Don't make me shoot you!"

" _Don't_!" Diablo has tears in his eyes, barely human still. "If you kill me, she dies too!"

Harley looks to Flag, "Seems to be a trend with your girlfriend. Who _can_ we kill that doesn't kill her back?!"

Then, suddenly, Diablo's screaming raises, if possible, and the flames die. It happens so quickly, and he falls to his knees, that no one knows exactly what happened.

Deadshot doesn't lower his arm, but Harley races to Diablo's side.

" _Easy_ , mate!" Digger warns.

Flag approaches Diablo, his guard up, until Harley puts a hand on his shoulder and he doesn't burn her. Then, Flag drops to his knees and is gripping Diablo's arms, shaking him.

"What happened? Where is she? What'd you do?!"

Diablo is in tears, but with clear eyes he looks into Flag's face directly.

"She let me go."

" _Enchantress_?"

"The _witch_ did this, mate? She made you do it?"

"Yes…no. _She_ didn't….The big guy did, but….but it was _June_."

" _June_ made you do this?" Flag is horrified.

" _No_. June _saved_ me."

* * *

 _In the dead of night_

 _I'm the only one here_

 _And I will cover you_

* * *

A/N: I'm still trying to convey in his story that June has a strong personality-she's more of a fighter in this fic than the movie but only cause she can be-Enchantress is weak enough and June has seen others sacrifice to stop her, so now she'll try to stop her, too. Rick is pretty somber at this point, but he'll get his fire back in the next chapter hopefully!

So I don't ship Joker and Harley-I actually don't know many who do. Their relationship together is definitely important, and I can't deny it's in her character to be in love with Joker, but it's still wrong and just not smthng I find easy to write. Do I ship Deadshot and Harley? Also not really...I'm slowly coming around to it, and I read something really interesting once about how in the movie they kinda act like there's strong sexual tension between them-that's how they interact? So I was more going for that-they're not the type to fall in a healthy love, but I enjoy how close they act that you'd almost believe they were. Katanna and Boomerang, he's a huge flirt, but again niether can really love-though I'm more partial to that pairing than the former (I could be persuaded to like both, though)

Spoiler for the book and kinda the movie-ish, but...Boomerang's perfect-world vision? Is him in complete peace and in the outback, burning all his boomerangs, saying "this is good. No more killing" and it's really heart breaking because the entire novel, Flag and others are constantly throwing it in his face that he wears being a villain proudly 'like a badge' and that he loves killing, and so the fact his dream is that he doesn't have to kill anymore..? It's really sad and I wanted to try to at least hint at it in this story...

So Diablo is really adamant about not killing again, and yes it's very OOC that even with others being tortured that he'd succumb to killing again, so I really wanted to make a point of that he's being manipulated by magic-Incubus had a bit to do with him burning the village, cause Incubus and him did kinda die together and have a slight connection. But, he's free now and totally ready to kick some meta-ass and get revenge. GQ is still in danger though...and June...

P.S-This is my favorite CHVRCHES song, and their most famous, but also was the hardest to try to tie into as a chapter title-it's hinted at being from Boomerang's line about how 'life is the mother of us all and she's a bitch', so...I tried...

Sorry, hope this chapter was alright! And made sense! And was ok-to-easy-ish to follow!?


	6. Tether

Halfway through with the story about~ This story I think will be twelve chapters long..? It doesn't seem it, reading this chapter, that it's only halfway through, but there's more conflict~

Still trying to sprinkle in character development of every character present~

Disclaimer: I own nothing, there's mild language and my laptop charger is DEAD so the next chapter won't be up til after the weekend sorry! Hope you enjoy though!

* * *

 _Where'd you go, you were there by my side_

 _Keep believing it's my turn to hide_

 _In a place where we don't have a prayer_

 _There's a tether that's keeping me there_

* * *

Villagers are crying, collapsed, praying loudly in their native tongue.

Harley is helping some men carry unconscious figures further from the flames. She's not _that_ kind of a doctor but she has enough knowledge of first aid to bark out a few orders, and they're all amazed at the strength she has—particularly in heels.

Croc's skin is tough and he carries water with the strongest and most unaffected villagers to the fires, trying to control them and breaking people from their homes. He snarls when flames lick at him, but furthers stuns the village people when he just carries on.

Katanna was helping, too, until a lost boy approached her, crying and begging for his mother. She's a little lost at what to do until Digger runs up, hoists the boy on his shoulders, and starts yelling angrily for attention. It works- all the raucous he causes- because a woman with a charred arm sees her son carried in the air and sprints with tears in her eyes. She wants to hold her son, but Digger forces her to sit and be treated first, her son standing right beside her holding her hand as Katanna, slightly shaken, bandages her wound.

Diablo sits off from the village, cross-legged with misty eyes. Another villager, an older woman, approaches him, yelling and pointing angrily at him.

"Ma'am, step back," Flag warns. She keeps screaming from a distance.

"They're calling me the Devil. They're not wrong. _I_ did this…"

Flag glares back at Diablo.

"This _wasn't_ you. This was the witch and her brother. They _used_ you—"

"-They'd never have gotten the chance if I hadn't come back!"

Deadshot, standing nearby and silent through all this, jumps at this opportunity to ask, "Exactly _how_ did you come back?"

Diablo shrugs.

"When we blew the big guy, back in Midway…for a while, I thought it was the afterlife. It was what I deserved, at least. No one but me. Just lost in my memories; never to see my family again…then GQ came along, and after that, June."

Flag grits his teeth.

"She's the one who recognized it wasn't the afterlife. I wasn't as dead as I thought…just trapped. Trapped in some otherworldly dimension. She broke us free, but the brother got out, too. Then, he transported us all out here, and forced us to help make the witch's new heart." He shakes his head, and then glances up at the squad.

"How are you all here?" Diablo asks, looking between Flag and Deadshot.

Floyd snorts. "I was about to ask the same thing. We've maybe got an hour window before Waller reaches that village back there, and I don't doubt first thing she'll do is find a phone and blow our heads."

Flag frowns.

"Maybe. Or maybe she won't."

"Why's that?" Diablo asks.

"Cause Waller knows how dangerous Enchantress is. She just might risk not blowing your brains if she thinks you can save the world."

"Is this one of those 'enemies of my enemies'?"

"It's one of Waller's schemes to have someone else do her dirty work. We'll find out in about an hour if you all start dropping like firecrackers or not."

"Great," Deadshot eye rolls, gripping at his throat.

* * *

GQ is crumpled on the ground, cringing. There's blood dripping from his ears, and Enchantress' cheeks are stained with tear tracks.

Incubus stands over GQ, finally withdrawing his hand. Edwards is out cold, finally subdued in his screams, and June is front and center in Enchantress' mind, watching helplessly every second of torture of the SEAL.

" _ **Try that again,"**_ Incubus warns, " _ **and he dies. My sister will have a new heart, and once she is strong again…**_ " He trails off, letting the threat hang in the air. June bites her lip.

" _Stop fighting me_!" Enchantress hisses in her mind.

A minute ago, June would have screamed back " _never_!"

 _Now?_

She silently slips to the back of their mind, letting Enchantress overwhelm their body with control. She sits up, trying to prop herself to watch her brother continue his enchantment. GQ stirs, and June helplessly watches as he smirks at her from the ground, blood staining his teeth.

"Good job, _June_ ," he thanks her; bracing himself despite the pain to cling to the hope that at least Diablo was freed— _June hasn't given up_.

She smiles sadly at him from the depths of her own body, knowing that she, in fact, _has_.

* * *

When the fires are dying down, but not the cries, Boomerang finally allows himself to sit back, sighing as the sun is just fading under the trees. Heavy jungle surrounds them, and he knows they can't stay, but _damn_ if he isn't tired.

"You did good." It's Katanna, complimenting him.

He does a double-take.

"A compliment?!" His voice cracks in surprise.

Katanna's mask still can't hide her eye roll as she sits next to him. She offers a bowl with water—it's brown, not filtered, but he doesn't give a damn; he's dying of thirst.

"You weren't a thief," she comments, and he shrugs. "Nothing of value to steal."

"Not only that," she shakes her head. "You helped. あなたは英雄でした."

He looks at her for a moment, trying to decipher what she said, but gives up.

"Don't get used to it, sweetheart," he murmurs.

"Tatsu."

"Gesundheit."

"No. My name—Tatsu."

Digger jumps aback, spilling some of the water. He never even questioned that 'Katanna' had a name other than that.

She stares at him, expecting some retort, but it never comes. Maybe he's just that damn tired…

* * *

Harley approaches the trio of Diablo, Flag and Deadshot.

"So, Waller booked it. We ain't dead yet, but we also lost our guide."

"I know the way," Diablo cuts in, standing. "I'll lead us-"

"No. You're sitting this out."

"Nah, _ese_ , this is my fight, too—we're a team, remember?"

"You died," Flag counters. "That's the definition of contract termination. I'm not making you go through this fight again. You'll stay here, and whichever ones of us make it back? We'll regroup with you and bring you home, stateside, when it's over."

"It's not your call, then." Diablo shakes his head. "I'm not a part of the team? _Bullshit_. And if that _was_ the case, when you ain't my leader. I'm leading you—I know the way. And I'm teaching that

 _dios aspirante_ a thing or two about messing with me, _or_ my family."

Deadshot throws an arm over Chato's shoulders. "Good to have you back."

Chato nods.

Flag sighs. "I don't like it, but fine. We need to be moving. Waller still could strike back, and we have a way's to go I'm guessing."

Chato shrugs, "Half a day."

Harley slumps, "We need to rest, Flag. I'm not gonna spend my last hour on Earth trudging blindly through a jungle just to die by snake bite, quick sand or explodin' head. Even _Croc_ is at his limit from helping the village, and Digger didn't even lip at me when I yelled ' _Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!_ ' We're tired, and we can't fight the twins of death, even if they _are_ at half strength, in this state."

Flag nods, but he doesn't like it. A common trend as of late.

"Fine. But, we can't camp at this village. I don't want one of them trying to extract revenge on Diablo for something he couldn't control. We move ahead, set up a camp, and rest for the night. We gotta get a move on at dawn, though. Chato, did she have a new heart?"

Chato shakes his head.

"No. I don't know how close he was, but he needed souls—that was my job. Come out here, and…" he trails off, "But, he's also not the same level of his sister. He's all brute—she's the spell caster. He'll work straight through the night—he don't need sleep, but losing me? Lost him a lot of souls. It might be enough to slow him down; buy us time."

"That's the best news we've heard in a week." Flag retorts. "Grab Digger, Katanna, and Croc. We're moving out."

* * *

" _Psst_ , you awake?"

Deadshot opened one eye, glancing with it at Harley. She was currently leaned on top of him, smiling wickedly. He grunted, sitting himself up.

True to his word, Flag had walked them an hour before they set up camp. Some grateful villagers had offered them blankets—others, Digger and Harley had stolen (They did feel bad, taking from a village with so little after the attack, but swore to return them on the way back). Croc had located a stream and Flag had made a fire, boiled the water, and they'd finally had something clean to drink. Croc also, handy in the river, had caught fish for dinner, though it was chewy and tough. Not the best meal, but they were used to the bare minimum from Belle Reve and didn't complain.

"I know you're not waking me up for my night shift," Deadshot growled.

They'd set up a semi-circle of sleeping bags and Flag had insisted on taking first watch. Currently, it was Katanna's turn. She was sitting a ways away under a tree, not looking at the group. Croc snored at the edge of the circle. Flag was stiff mostly, save the occasional whimper that everyone silently agreed to not make fun of him for—who knew what nightmares the tortured soldier was suffering through … And Chato wasn't bothering to hide that he was awake—the damage on the village he'd done today was eating at him inside and he'd likely find no peace or sleep tonight, if ever.

Digger was on his side, but Deadshot wasn't sure if he was asleep or not—he'd been exhausted, but the Aussie seemed _too_ quiet and stiff to be _really_ asleep.

And, naturally, Harley wasn't.

"What's the game plan for tomorrow? Our necks haven't blown, so Waller must be thinkin' we can actually do it. Y'know, defeat the demon..?"

"Or she has bad cell reception," Floyd groaned, trying to turn over. Harley just moved with him, continuing to stare him in the face.

"Hey, I'm serious! We ain't gonna go in blind like the first time, ya know? You call the shots-"

"- _Flag_ calls the shots-"

"-yeah, but Flag is distracted. What's the plan, Hun?"

Deadshot sighs. "The plan is…bust a cap in the big one's ass and drag the witch by the hair til she relinquishes control to Flag's girl. Then, I go home to Zoe—after you take care of your promise and remove these bombs from our necks before Waller decides good deeds _do_ go punished."

Harley frowns, and Deadshot sits up at this.

"No, no— _no_ making that face. What is it? Is this about your fight with the Joker?"

Harley looks down. Floyd's eyes have adjusted under the moon, so there's no point in her trying to hide her face.

"Look, yeah—we got into a fight. But, he's gotta be over it by now! I'll get these bombs outta our necks, I just…I just hope he ain't waiting for me there, ya know? Girl still needs her space 'n that…"

Deadshot rolled his eyes. "This is why I'm a divorcee."

He stood up, because now he was fully awake, and leaving Harley—" _Hey_!"—he approached Chato.

"How you doin', ese?"

Chato inhaled sharply, "Ready to take the fight back to them."

Floyd nodded, scratching at the bridge of his nose, "Y'know… You and KC? You're kind of our big hitters…"

"Don't worry about me, man. I'll fight this time—no holding back."

Deadshot shakes his head, "I'm not worried about that…Look, I know last time…" it's weird to refer to ' _your self-sacrifice, that time where you died?_ ' as a _last time_ , "I get it…and, I know you're done with fighting and you want your peace and all, and after this…" Deadshot isn't any good beating around the bush, so he instead just shoots at it, "You're not dying this time."

Chato looks at him.

"You're thinking about it, I know. And don't think I'm growing soft on you, but really I'm just trying to keep the numbers in our odds. You want to atone for your crimes from before? Well, yeah, not killing and all that? It was good. A good start. And self-sacrificing for the rest of us? Appreciated, _sure_. But, life has given you a second chance—this is some preachin' shit you'd usually be spouting at me, but it's all topsy turvy out here, so here goes…You're surviving tomorrow. You're gonna live, and I know you're desperate to be reunited with your family, and to be at peace, but throwing away your life again? Ain't the way to do it. Living, and keeping their memory alive? _That's_ the way."

Chato is genuinely moved, but shakes his head.

"How do you know, _ese_? Could you live knowing you took your own daughter's life?"

Floyd shudders at the thought, but remains stern. "I'd live for her. Because the only way to disappoint her more would be dying and not doing any good. I'm a bad guy, but I have a real talent. And you've got a gift—God's or not. Use it for this fight, and all the ones after."

Chato nods, not because he believes Lawton's words, but because he's grateful for them. He'll think about them.

Everyone's demanding him to live, and all he ever wanted to do was die.

* * *

Katanna is a bit remorseful approaching Boomerang. He's next on the shift list, but he looks still and peaceful and after how tired he was earlier…

"It's al'ight, Missy," he whispers from over his shoulder. He turns to face her, and it's clear he's been awake. "Turn already, issit?"

She nods slowly. He looks past her and can see Harley fumbling with her hands—awake—and Deadshot and Diablo chatting in low voices—awake—and finally he looks back at Tatsu.

"Earlier, you said something Japanese…your favorite memory, was it?"

Katanna nods. They all did, she recalls.

"What was it?"

She has nothing to hide—just because she spoke in her native language, doesn't mean she wasn't honest. The fact she said anything meant it was meant to be heard, so she tells him.

"My wedding day."

He nods.

"Not the night?"

She scowls at him, but he throws his hands up, tired, "I know, I know…s'rry…" He's exhausted, she realizes. _What's eating at him?_

He can tell she's curious, and he smirks because of it.

"First crime I ever committed? Arcade, in town—had a brand new Claw machine. Bastard cheated me of my allowance…I'd saved three months worth's of quarters fer this one trip into town with me Pa. Then the bloody machine takes 'em all, one by one. College kid behind the counter? Didn't give a damn. I was so angry, I reached across his counter—grabbed the first thang I could—Boomerang. Used a bit in my time; hurled it straight at the damn thing. Glass shatters, kids screaming. Kids' trynna jump the counter at me, but I reach in—grab the first thing I can, and run. Book it half down the street and hide fer an hour til mah Pa gits done. Didn't even look'it the thing I stole til was already in the buggy back home."

 _Pinkie_ , he smirks. Currently, the stuffed unicorn sits safely in a detention center box, along with Boomer's jacket and beers. Katanna only could grab his boomerangs when she'd snuck in, but that's alright, he thinks. His first trip when he gets back? _Bust out Pinkie_. Only friend he's had after all this time…

Katanna stares at him, not sure how to respond. Why share that memory? Why share anything at all? Boomerang doesn't care about anyone but himself, but now he seems so remorseful…So somber.

"You won't die tomorrow. Promise," is all Tatsu says, when she realizes. Boomerang smirks at her, winking, "'Course I won't, love," but something in his voice says he may not believe that.

Tatsu lifts her sword, and Digger jumps back, "Woah!"

"私は彼の魂に誓います. あなたが死ぬことはありません."

Boomerang stares from her to the sword, leveled at his eye, not quite understanding. Still, he nods, rubbing at his eyes to brush the sleep out of them. "Yeah, right. Whatever ya say."

Tatsu watches him rise and take her spot by the tree, standing guard. She looks at her sword, wondering what her husband thinks, watching her pity—care—about the Aussie.

 _None of them will die,_ she thinks. She'll protect them all, and cut down their enemies. She swears it.

 _When did she start caring for these criminals?_

* * *

They're back in their apartment, and the news is on lightly in the background. It's another report on Midway City repairs, and his first thought is, immediately, _I have to turn this off—for June._

"Don't."

He whips around, and sure enough she's standing there. She looks the same as the day he last saw her, before she left with Waller. She smiles at him and he crosses the room in two strides, swallowing her in his arms and embracing her tightly.

"This is just a dream," he reminds himself.

She pushes back against his chest so he can face her, "It's more than that," and there's tears in her eyes but a faint smile on her lips and he's devastated when she pulls away from him and heads to the kitchen. He stares at her as she begins pulling out ingredients.

"I'll cook tonight."

"Why are you doing this?" He asks.

"I want to be normal. For one more night, let's pretend."

So he lets her. She cooks and he sets the table and when they eat, he tastes nothing, but they stare silently at each other from across the table the whole time.

"Don't go," she whispers, begs, and he looks confused.

" _I_ shouldn't have let _you_ go," he counters.

She inhales, rubbing her hands against her arms and he's out of his chair instantly, gripping her hands and pulling them down towards his kneeling chest.

"June." It's the first time he's said her name out loud this whole dream, and she shudders at hearing him say it, "I'll save you. I'll bring you back. We'll go home, and we'll move to Italy, or wherever you want-"

She pulls her hands free and stands up.

"This isn't the same, Rick." Her back is to him. "I'm not coming back. There isn't a way to win, _this_ time." Rick is at her back, hesitant to touch her. This dream feels so real…

"June, we're almost there. Tomorrow, I'll be there, and I'll save you—we'll banish Enchantress back, we'll throw and her brother in whatever dimension or jar and throw away the key with them, they won't-" he sighs, "-they won't bother us anymore."

"Don't make a promise you can't keep."

Rick slams his fists on the table—the dinnerware shakes.

" _Don't_ give up!"

June turns to face him again.

"If you save me—if you try— _she'll_ kill GQ. _He_ will kill all of _you_! There's no getting rid of her! Waller will find a way—always—and I'll never be rid of her! We were kidding ourselves before…Always…"

Rick refuses to believe that, shaking his head.

"You promised, remember? You said you'd be _back_ , and then that was it. You'd be safe, _remember_? We both did…"

"I'm sorry…I shouldn't have made that promise-"

Rick grabs her wrists and yanks her into him, holding her tight, "Stop. _Stop_ saying this…"

His voice is shaking.

He realizes, now, this _is_ more than a dream. This really _is_ June—somehow, someway, she's here with him. And she's trying to say goodbye, but he won't let her. It doesn't end here.

"I can't fight her. I don't want you to, either."

Rick shakes his head, his hand stroking her back.

"I will. I'll _always_ fight her. For _you_ , I'll do it—every time, no matter how many times."

She's openly crying, and her voice is a hoarse whisper, " _Please, don't…"_

She's praying Enchantress will spare him—spare the others _. Don't hurt them,_ she thinks. _Don't go after her, Rick, please…_

" _Fight_ her, June," Rick begs. "Fight her off—we're coming for you, and we'll _save_ you. We'll stop her, but you have to, too—you have to _fight_ her!"

June smiles, closing her eyes against Rick's chest.

"Remember the night in New Mexico?" She asks again, and she blubbers out a small laugh at the memory of the night, and of this very conversation.

He smirks, too.

"I told you about my dad…" he mimics her answer from that night; that night not from months ago but from days ago, when he was comforting _her_ and now the tables are turned.

"And I asked if you were ever gonna kiss me or not."

She looks up at him, smirking.

"Are you gonna kiss me or not?" She whispers, and just as that night in New Mexico, he doesn't hesitate.

* * *

Flag's eyes shoot open, and the first thing he notes is his surroundings. It's still dark, and his team is around him.

And none of them are asleep.

"If you're all gonna keep talking and not sleep, we can pack up and move out now."

Croc growls, irritated at everyone else costing him his rest, and the camp falls quiet.

* * *

GQ doesn't sleep that night. He can't remember the last time he slept—before he "died", it's all a blur of the chaos during Midway, and in _that_ dimension he seemed to spend eternity aware of his surroundings, but floating in some coma—until June came along, at least.

Maybe the moments he spent unconscious when June had teleported them back, or just this afternoon when Incubus tortured him, count.

He doesn't sleep now. He stands over Enchantress' menacing form, trying to look past the grime and embers and shadows to see the June underneath it all. He doesn't understand all this magic nonsense. He doesn't get what happened—how June was able to free Diablo, but he knows he's grateful for it.

He knows how haunted Diablo was—spend enough time alone with someone in an ' _afterlife'_ and you learn a lot about their demons. GQ wonders why he's still alive; not just how he survived in that dimension, but even now. What use is he to the siblings? Enchantress is weak, sure, but she's _magical_ —her wounds will heal as soon as Incubus finishes her new heart. And he must have gotten enough souls thanks to Diablo because he hasn't gone out himself, or sent GQ, to gather any more.

Enchantress stirs in her sleep—it's odd to see the witch doing something as human as sleeping. Maybe sleep isn't the right word—meditating? _Healing_? But she looks as if she's dreaming…

GQ tries to find a source of light to stare outside at—all the shafts of moonlight come from holes in the ceiling that are several chambers tall and he's near none of them.

GQ misses the sun. Or the moon, either or. He hasn't seen the outside in so long…

He thinks of his mother back on the farm—she had to have "buried" him _months_ ago. What a shock she'll be in for when he returns…

 _If he does._

He thinks about his men, all lost, that night in Midway—none of them got a chance to return to life. None of them will get to surprise their mothers or loved ones by revealing, _"No, just kidding—I'm alive."_

GQ could question why he survived and not his men, or he could try to sleep or try to find the moon—but it's not about him right now.

He leans in close to June, whispering low enough so Incubus can't hear and praying Enchantress is too lost in an ancient dream to head his words.

"Don't give up, June. _Fight_ for control—I was ready to die before, and I'll do it again. _Don't_ let her win."

It doesn't matter if he sees his mother again, or the sun, or that he's alive again and will die soon enough—it only matters that _June_ _fights_.

* * *

Rick stumbles, leading the team. Dark circles trench his eyes and the sun, though still young and red, burns down on them. He keeps reliving his night with June—she'd reached out to him, somehow—maybe with Enchantress' magic, or her apparent ability to waver between dimensions, to speak with him. Warn him. She wanted him to not come after her.

 _Like hell._

Deadshot is at his side, trudging along with his rifle in hand. They're both looking straight ahead, but Deadshot talks low so only Rick can hear.

"Can we count on you?"

Rick frowns.

"The _hell_ does that mean?"

Deadshot shrugs.

"If push comes to shove, will you shove?"

He's asking if Rick will do what needs to be done—stop Enchantress, even if it means not saving June.

"I did it once before, didn't I?"

It's one of his greatest nightmares—those seconds where he thought he'd killed June.

Floyd's turn to frown.

Because he knows how devastated Rick had been. He'd seen how it had killed Rick. Sure, he went through it that time—but there was no way this man would ever go there again.

By saying yes, Lawton knew Rick really meant no.

* * *

When the temple comes into view, everyone feels a cold wind sent down their spines. Harley is the only one to vocalize how uncomfortable she feels in the presence of the runes. She notes it's almost like they're glowing, and everyone silently agrees.

Inside, Incubus is creating a new heart for Enchantress.

GQ is being held hostage.

 _And June…_

"Don't suppose June hid some charges in the basement last time she was here like you did, did she?"

Rick scowls.

"No."

Digger sighs, stepping forward. "Plan, mate?"

"Barge in through the front, stop the ritual—blow the bastard up again and save June."

"That's not a plan. That's a wish list for Santa Claus."

"They know we're coming. They'll be expecting us. Enchantress is weak—she won't fight us. June is providing enough distraction, fighting her constantly-"

Rick bites back his tongue, not interrupting Chato. He recalls last night. _Something tells him June is giving up the fight…_

"I'll take on the brother again."

Deadshot gives Chato a look, and the shorter man nods.

 _Don't sacrifice yourself for your family._ Live _for them…_

Digger cracks his knuckles and neck.

"I got sum explosives in mah arsenal," he holds up a boomerang, "Any traps in this joint? Could prob'ly find some powder or lint, boost the blast a bit. I can create a trap—nice lil' boom. Not as much as the last time, but it might do the trick."

Rick nods, but Katanna is staring at Boomerang. Why is he offering his help so much? _Trying to prove himself? Save the world?_ He still looks so tired…

 _Tired of living?_

"So just like ol' times—distract the big guy," Harley shrugs. "Even if she's weak, I wouldn't put it past the witch to fight back—you know what they say about cornering a crazed animal."

"Leave her to me," Rick volunteers.

"No. You're too invested," Deadshot counters. "Harley, you take care of the witch. Subdue her—get GQ to help you. The rest of us focus on the big guy. Boomerang, you go under—set your trap, but don't get caught in any of this temple's."

Katanna almost volunteers to go with, but she knows she's needed to fight Incubus. She holds back her tongue, even as Boomerang moves to leave the group. She could shout a "be safe," or something, but in a moment he's gone.

"Let's do this."

 _Please don't die_ , they simultaneously think of one another.

* * *

Digger Harkness isn't an engineer. He never went to college and doesn't have a degree. He did, however, tinker with boomerangs as a kid. And after you master trick shots and can toss a boomerang blind and ricochet it back to you in the middle of a sandstorm, you start to find a problem in the equipment, not you.

So he tinkered with his toys until they did tricks themselves; explode, track, EMPs, razors or dull. His arsenal consists of roughly twenty physical boomerangs, but each one can be used so many different ways (and always come back) that it's like holding a quiver of a hundred.

Digger can hear the rumblings of the siblings (maybe just the big one) above him. He snuck around the entrance, avoiding detection (he hopes) and sliding down a hole that looked like it may tunnel, and if nothing else provides cover.

It's a short tunnel and he treads lightly—he heard the story of how Flag's girlfriend fell down a hole to get possessed. Digger doesn't want to get possessed.

He pulls out his lighter, setting it a distance away to provide light for him to work, but also not too close to set off what delicate procedure he's about to accomplish.

 _This is new,_ he thinks. _People counting on him._

He's supposed to rig some bomb as big as those charges from Mdway _? Yeah, right_. Fire guy better feel inspired being in his home country or whatever, because Boomer is gonna need a boost. He's got four explosive boomerangs—he chips off the explosive part. K, that's a nice little ankle-biting mine right there. He tweaks with some of the wires on the other boomerangs—he can create a fuse, sure. There's no gun powder or C4 in these things—not like he needs there to be. _Whatever._ Small things can pack a punch.

 _Like in his neck._

Digger hesitates. _There's a thought_.

He fumbles through his kit until he finds the sharpest, thinnest Boomerang—a favorite of his that he's been sharpening and perfecting for years. It's not clean or sanitized, and this plan will backfire for sure.

Whatever. He's not particularly smart, he reminds himself. He didn't go to college. He pulls off his jacket—it's burning in this bloody hole and if he's about to die, he'll die comfortably.

He hesitates, holding the boomerang up in hand. He wants this to be quick and painless, if it can be. He recalls Midway, and that bloke—Sliptight? Knotman?—and realizes karma's a bitch.

 _This isn't your style_ , he reminds himself. _Since when do you give a damn about others? Self-sacrifice?_

He thinks about Flag, whose beating himself up over his girlfriend. _There's plenty of 'roos in the Outback, mate_ —ones with less baggage, too.

He thinks of Harley—crazy witch herself, that one, even if she _is_ fine—and Deadshot, who has a daughter. Damn, Boomer's got a soft spot for kids. Diablo, who Boomerang would be lying if he said he wasn't happy to see that bloke again—and KC, who still scares the shit out of Boomerang but that's one partner he wouldn't mind out in the field; if nothing else, he could take on a number of guards or men while Digger escaped. Worth having him have your back in a fight.

And Katanna— _Tatsu_. And her husband, the sword. She seemed concerned about him, he realizes. He wonders, if this doesn't go so well, if it'd be so bad to not die immediately—he wouldn't mind her mercy killing him, trapping his soul in her sword.

At least she'd be stuck talking to him for eternity.

He flinches. No, he'd rather his soul _wasn't_ trapped in a sword.

 _Better to die quick_ , he reminds himself.

With that thought, he pushes the hair of his neck up with one hand and slices with the boomerang in his other hand across the base.

* * *

Flag signals for the half of the team to cross the entrance, ducking as they do so. Deadshot, Harley, and Diablo cross. Katanna and Killer Croc remain behind him. He points, signaling the plan of attack, but Lawton glares at him, rolling his eyes. Flag frowns, giving up on the signals and whispering sharply, " _Follow me_!"

He ducks in and in formation the squad follows.

It's a long hallway of vines, growth and moss, all over stone. Flag has his rifle up on point, Deadshot following the same, and behind him the others file with their own weapons readied.

When they reach the main room's entrance, they duck again. Peering over, cautiously, Flag sizes up the layout of the room.

Incubus is to the far right, distracted completely by the lights that dance in front of him—he's crafting the heart. The same green light from the village is what swarms around him— _souls_.

The room is barren until the far left, where a stone slab lays out. On it is Enchantress.

 _June._

GQ hovers over her, touching her forehead and arms, carefully as if he's both concerned and disgusted—Flag reminds himself not to be jealous. GQ is being held as a prisoner to keep June alive, he reminds himself. The Lieutenant looks exhausted, but selflessly as ever he's only concerned about June.

Deadshot leans in.

"We gonna make ourselves known now, or..?"

Enchantress stirs and for a moment lifts herself. Flag feels the hairs on his neck rise— _she senses them_! She's going to alert her brother, who hasn't yet noticed them—

Then, GQ—recognizing something is amiss—leans in, seemingly hearing Enchantress' voice. Fear rises to his eyes and he looks straight forward and, briefly, he makes eye contact with Flag. Relief washes over the soldier for a moment, just as Enchantress begins to sit herself up, but then he acts.

He throws himself at Enchantress, kissing her, and stopping her from giving away the squad's position.

Flag, for a moment, is both disgusted and furious, but Deadshot grips his sleeve and yanks him forward.

GQ is holding Enchantress' shoulders, despite her weak struggles, with his eyes open on the squad. They're sprinting, ducking, from the entrance. Diablo moves to the front just as Enchantress breaks free.

" _Brother_!"

She's too late.

Incubus turns only to be met with a face full of flames as Diablo unleashes on him. He wastes no time getting heated—angry with revenge on his mind for what Incubus forced of him.

Harley sprints to GQ's side, just as GQ is pushed back. He falls over, wiping at his mouth as if disgusted, and Harley winks at him.

"I don't know who'll kill ya first— _Flag_ or the witch!"

Enchantress tries standing, but buckles over. Harley hugs her from behind, and GQ joins her to restrain the witch.

" _Fight_ her, June!"

Flag can't be concerned with June anymore—his focus is on Incubus. He checks into his walker just as he holds his rifle's trigger down.

"Digger, come in! We could use your help about now—you got that bomb we need?"

There's static in return, and Katanna looks worryingly at Flag. Flag tries again.

No response.

Deadshot is aiming headshots while Diablo continues to pound flames upon Incubus. The monster tries reaching for his cauldron of suspended lights, hoping to protect his sister's new heart, but Killer Croc is there, landing a punch to the giant's arm and cracking his elbow.

The monster merely reforms the bone, but Diablo is walking around him to block his view of the heart's formation.

 _"Brother!"_ Enchantress bites back, trying to fling Harley from her back. She's strong, unusually so for her frail form, but also weak in her state. She extends her hands and a sword appears amidst flames burning in them.

GQ catches sight of this and pushes Harley back, just as Enchantress swings.

* * *

Free, Enchantress raises her sword, ready to bring it down on the duo, now sprawled having tripped to the ground, but June is front and center in their mind, screaming at her not to.

 _Leave them alone!_

Enchantress falls to her knees once more, and Harley is back on her—GQ kicks the sword out of her hand.

 _"Humans! Mortal and petty—you dare take on a God?!"_

Enchantress reaches her hand out and seemingly with an invisible knife stabs at her chest.

GQ crumples, coughing up blood, just as June, too, feels the pain.

 _No_!

June closes her eyes and relinquishes control to Enchantress once more. She still has control over GQ.

June calms her mind, trying to ignore the struggling team fighting her—instead, she searches again for the threads binding her and GQ together to Enchantress. She recalls his words.

 _"Don't give up, June! Fight her!"_

Enchantress, however, has grown savvy and recognizes June's ploy. Though it pains her, she teleports away from the duo of GQ and Harley.

Enchantress collapses as she manifests, landing on a suspended arch that sits as a shelf above the others. None can reach her, and she gasps for air at the exertion.

June feels on fire, and Enchantress is crawling, but she refuses to allow June any more control.

" _Stop…fighting me, girl!"_

 _N-no…_ June bites back.

The tether is slipping, but she can still sense it—faintly—and she will die before she lets Enchantress torture GQ—or any of her friends—again.

Enchantress is hidden from the view of the fight, clutching at her chest. It was a mistake to teleport—she doesn't have the strength and the toll it took on her is unbearable. All the more easy for June to grip the link, pull, and snap it.

GQ feels his lungs fill with air for the first time without being pained, and he knows he's free.

"June!" He yells, and he and Harley are desperately looking for the missing witch.

Enchantress, meanwhile, screams from above them.

" _Foolish girl! Stop…_ fighting _me!"_

June is exhausted. They both are weak, and all her strength was spent on setting GQ free.

Enchantress reaches the edge of the platform, peering down.

The others are occupying Incubus' attention—he's forced to his knees as they press upon him. Katanna slices a hand off, but he can't reform it in time before Diablo is burning the stump.

Enchantress, furious, starts attacking her own mind—her own host.

 _"I will destroy them all! As soon as I subdue you!"_

June feels a coldness slipping over her. She can't fight Enchantress any longer. GQ and Diablo are both free—the others are holding their own against Incubus. Her work is done—there's nothing more she can do.

 _Bullshit_ , she thinks.

 _There's still one thing I can do._

She closes her eyes, retreating again to the part of her mind where the binds had been—she feels out for every presence in the room.

She finds GQ and Diablo the easiest—they had a link not long before. Harley is a wild aura—easy to spot. Killer Croc has something deformed and monstrous, but human at the center, and she grabs hold. Katanna is surrounded by broken souls, swarming her soul, and June manages to shift through them all to find her own. Deadshot and Rick are the hardest. Deadshot is hollow and unfeeling, but somewhere there's a faint soul begging out love for his daughter.

And Rick…

Rick's soul is pure and burning—it's scared and heightened and she realizes its love. Love for her.

She grabs at him last.

With the several binds of souls in her grasp, June focuses on what it felt like to be connected to Diablo and GQ from before. She remembers that feeling—and she reverses it.

She feels not herself being connected to them—but Enchantress being banned.

She's creating a barrier that Enchantress cannot hurt them with, even if she's in control.

June smiles just as her conscious fades. _Who knew,_ she thinks. _I can wield some magic…_

* * *

" _Enough!"_

Rick feels his gun lurch from his hands. Everyone pauses as Enchantress warps herself back into view. She looks rabid and angered and weak, but just as Harley said—she's an animal caged in a corner, fighting back.

Incubus stands, just as angered, and immediately holds his good hand out to retaliate.

Nothing occurs, and Enchantress screams.

 _"No! The girl!"_

Incubus, confused, looks back to her.

 _ **"Sister?"**_

Enchantress searches the squad until she finds Rick, glaring at him.

" _You humans are truly an annoyance. To have defeated my brother and I before…It won't happen again."_

She straightens herself up, but it's a strain she isn't fully prepared to make and she wobbles as she walks.

"Ya can always try killin' us again!" Harley barks back.

Enchantress furiously looks to her.

" _I would have you all burn endlessly for days, and your souls torn apart until there is none of your precious humanity left. But, I can no longer touch those of you gathered."_

"Why not?!" Rick asks.

Enchantress seems pained to admit, " _The girl has relinquished control to me-"_

"-No!" It's both GQ and Flag who shout.

 _"-but not before casting a protection on you all gathered. She may have spared you my wrath, but this world is still my brother's and I! We will finish my heart, and with the strength of it I shall break her weak charm to destroy you all!"_

Flag stares on, horrified, as Incubus rises once again, closing his fist as if to condense the souls and magic, and a light burns briefly bright before, from within it, a shape emerges.

Enchantress' new heart.

* * *

 _I feel incapable of_

 _Seeing the end_

* * *

 **A/N:** Tried fleshing, particularly, GQ and Digger's characters out-GQ to me is most defined by how selfless he is-also, he's a clean slate as far as character and origin goes, so I'm trying to inch into developing that...Digger is so flatly a selfish character on the flip side, but it's fun to try to give him some motivation and dimension...

I don't think of June as a meta-human or a magic wielder, but she's possessed by Enchantress so she has to, if to get control, gain some affinity for manipulating magic; sorry if it came across as confusing, but pretty much I wanted it conveyed that June was able to cut off the ties of say GQ and Diablo, whose life forces were tied to hers to manipulate them, and reverse that effect so that the squad couldn't be touched by magic-I read somewhere that Enchantress was powerful enough to not be affected by Zatanna's spells, so I think it's only fair her all-powerful magic can cause restrictions on herself, too.

I wanted more flashbacks and moments between Rick and June in this chapter, but sacrificed a lot of it to develop other characters :/ Eventually, I'll write a chapter that can balance both, hopefully! Enchantress is stepping up as her own individual character, and June has finally stepped back-Enchantress is barely clinging on without a heart, but I also wanted it to be shown that not only does not having a heart take it's toll, but fighting June does-so, when June relinquishes all control, Enchantress really notices a difference in her mobility, though dying without a heart still makes her weak...

Not a lot to say about this chapter that I can think of at the moment...my laptop has to balance perfectly still as the charger is bent and broken-ordered a new one but it'll take a few days so in the meantime I'll gather up the ideas and typing but won't post until then...

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! It's one of my favorites so far, except at how little the June and Rick moments are, but the next chapter is heavy action AND heavy Moonflag~! And then the rest of this story is downhill angst from there~


	7. You Caught the Light

Sorry this took awhile to write! I had a lot of trouble organizing the scenes and pacing, since this chapter is like just...one big scene. It's a Boss Battle, and action ain't my foray-obviously...But, it I hope turned out alright and you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I own nothing and there's language~ and the tiniest of suicidal implication/mentioning, so trigger warning...?

Thank you again to everyone who is reading this story! All these wonderful reviews from you all just thanking me or saying you are enjoying these chapters is just...?! Like so nice, and perfect, and I want to just write a story deserving of your praise! So~ Hope you enjoy this..?!

* * *

 _You caught the light_

 _You carried mine_

 _You caught the light_

* * *

"What are you doing, Ma'am?" He asks, casually because he _knows_ and he doesn't want to spook her, but with enough force to let her know he won't let her go through with it.

They're at the top of the parking garage, and she's at the edge. Leaning over, she's contemplating it—peering at the bottom, several stories below them, and asking herself if she could do it. If she could, in a _split moment_ , take her own life.

What he doesn't know or realize is that she came up with the answer roughly half an hour ago—she _can't_.

She doesn't want to, and Enchantress would never let her. Maybe she's too afraid or too attached to life; or, June still is holding out hope that they can cure her— _fix her_ —like they promised the day they found her.

She honest to God smiles back at him- through him- not because she finds any part of this situation funny, but because it's a secret only she knows that it's absurd to think she could take her own life right now. Enchantress would _never_ -

"I do have to ask you step away from the ledge," Flag comments, nodding. He's a little on edge and not at all because of the threat of the witch—he genuinely is concerned for the young woman's life.

He couldn't bear to see her take it.

June isn't one to stand up to men with guns or question authority—but, in this moment, she just doesn't _give a damn_. She stays where she is, because what is the Colonel going to do? _Shoot her?_

Her feet hurt; she's been on them all day. And she's been monitored and questioned for far longer than a day. And for roughly 22 minutes, she had escaped it all, up on this parking garage rooftop, and she's too drunk on that feeling of escape and control that she's been missing that she'll stay by this edge for one- _bloody-more_ -minute.

Flag recognizes this, and approaches her slowly. He's coming around to the idea that she isn't going to jump—he's still on edge, but her smile just then reassured him she wouldn't jump on him. She's just taking in a few more breadths of fresh air outside her hotel home.

"Outside the city, you can actually _see_ the stars," she says out loud, sarcastically, well aware that it's a cliché thought but right now she needs simple clichés. It's impossible to see stars in the middle of the city, though she picks out a satellite that pretends to act as one.

Flag glances up at the sky for a second before returning his eyes to the doctor—he keeps them trained on her, but eases up.

"You can see a lot of things outside the city...I bet you saw plenty out there-" It comes off worse than he meant. "I-I meant, on all the excavations you've been on. Not just…" _Shit_. He trails off, and reminds himself he doesn't need to be good at small talk because he doesn't need small talk; _this is an assignment,_ he counters. _Just get her inside, safely_ , and if you can do so without a word, _all the better_.

But, she has the power and by refusing to move, she traps him out here and forces him to engage in dreaded small talk.

"I saw sunken cities—cities with no lights, completely submerged in the ground. I stood at the center of a metropolis, and looking up I could see the galaxy," she relishes the memory. Because now, she can't stand anywhere without a guard detail twenty feet from her and honestly, being alone at night where she could see stars seems like a recipe for the witch's kind of night, and June doubts she'll ever be able to stand under stars again.

"Ma'am, _please_ ," Rick asks, softer.

June bows her head. He tugged the leash and, defeated, she has to give in. She slips down from her position, ready to follow him back to her cage.

Except, he doesn't move. He recognizes, suddenly, how important it is for her to not be caged in her room and he leniently allows her a few more moments outside. Even if it means small talk…

"Amanda Waller _will_ help you."

June is surprised and turns to face Colonel Flag as he speaks.

"You believe in her?"

"I believe she accomplishes anything she sets her eyes on—and right now, she's set her eyes on you."

He tries to look reassuringly at June, but maybe his face comes across as much softer because the archeologist returns his look with one of her own—far too kind and appreciative than he deserves, and he looks away quickly.

June sighs.

"For your sake, too, I hope Waller finds a way to extract _her_ ," June won't dare mutter the witch's name out loud. She still feels so out of control and is never sure when the ancient spirit will take it back. "Watching a 120 pound girl must be boring as death compared to whatever your assignments were before."

Flag shrugs.

"None of those assignments had a meta like you." The world is a strange place, and Flag isn't sure he likes the changes in it. "It has its moments."

 _Moments of watching that monstrous thing possess you, and wondering if she'll be the death of you, or you'll be the death of everybody else. Moments of watching your spirit and self be chipped away at until I find you standing on a rooftop contemplating jumping, or catch you crying after demonstrations or hiding behind glasses when your file says you prefer contacts because it's_ that _thorough-_

Moments of watching you die.

"Not always pleasant…"

June snorts. "That…is the _least_ bullshit thing you've said all night."

He looks at her, because she hasn't been this outspoken or brave since the moment he saw her, but it's a short-lived moment. Very quickly, she retreats into herself. For a moment, he's worried Enchantress is about to show.

"I'm ready," she whispers, and he realizes she must see him as some prison guard to escort her back to her room. He is, in a way, but he doesn't like thinking of himself as such, and it bothers him immensely that _she_ sees him this way.

"C'mon. I'm picking up a pack of cigs for the boys monitoring the cams. Stay in my sight and you can come with."

She looks at him like he's delivering Christmas.

It's a shame she can't see herself, he thinks; because right now there are stars in her eyes and if she could see them, she wouldn't miss nights under the galaxy.

"It's a quick run, but it beats goin' straight back to your room."

* * *

 _June's gone_ , repeats over and over and over in Rick's mind.

Enchantress turns to her brother, still panting heavily in pain. " _My heart, brother! Complete the ritual so I may be whole_."

Incubus is still nursing his arm, bright white and having not yet reformed. He nods to Enchantress before growing his hand back, though if possible it looks weak—and with his good hand he reaches out to the heart.

It's a thing of earth, with growth and vines growing from it like arteries. Veins are moss and the heart itself is like a flesh sack, and blood- black and thick- oozes from it. It's far younger than the decrepit heart Rick crushed months ago, but this one still looks so ancient and inhuman.

Enchantress rips a jade jewel from a necklace, holding it out for her brother to combine with the heart. He levitates the piece of her towards it.

Then, Enchantress drags a finger nail down her wrist, opening a wound. She doesn't even wince at the pain as blood is drawn, floating in spheres towards her new heart.

 _She's adapting it to herself,_ Rick realizes.

Still, he keeps his eyes trained on Enchantress—watching her physically strain herself and struggle—and he knows June is in there.

" _Begin the ritual_ ," Enchantress beams at her brother, eager.

Incubus lifts his hands, and runes suddenly glow from all corners of the temple.

Harley whips her head to each rune, frantically realizing they're entrapped.

"What's with the neon lights?! This a nightclub all of a sudden?"

"Enchantress can't survive in this world without a heart, or a constant ritual. The brother set up these runes to act in the place of her heart until it was created." GQ yells back.

Enchantress stares at the crowded squad before her, taking in their faces. They all stand, for the most part, defiantly. She catches sight of Flag—the soldier—and he's the only one with a crushed will.

 _"I once offered you all mercy—and you instead sought to destroy me. I could return the favor-"_

She lifts her hand, but immediately withdraws it, hissing as if burned. Flag watches her with glazed eyes, recognizing-

"June, don't give up!" Rick shouts, and his voice is pitifully desperate and Enchantress can't help but laugh at it.

" _Pitiful_." Enchantress teases. " _You all continue to fight me. And what rewards and treasures were you gifted with at my last defeat? Were they even a fraction of what I could have offered you?"_

She looks to Flag.

" _I was banished and you thought you were free of me, but look how Waller went behind your back. Even I find it heartless what she did to poor June—trapping her, tricking her—_ torturing _her. You both could be free if you would follow me—don't you want_ to go anywhere _with her? Start a family?"_ Enchantress waves her hand, _"I know several fertility spells. The world wouldn't be a cage if you accepted me…"_

Deadshot scoffs, "Yeah, somethin' tells me Flag ain't into your threesome _bullshit_ , lady."

Enchantress whips her eyes to Lawton.

 _"How_ is _little_ Zoe _?"_

Lawton straightens up. _If this witch threatens his daughter…_

" _You still see her, after every mission—a reward; a treat for a_ good dog _, job well done. Wouldn't you like to_ be _with her? Not see her briefly for moments, but_ actually _be with her?"_

Katanna is next on Enchantress' singling speeches.

 _"I could bring him back."_

"You know she can't!" Flag shouts. "No one can bring your husband back!"

Enchantress smirks knowingly at Katanna, " _Was it_ him _I was referring to?"_

Katanna feels something in the pit of her stomach, but remains collected, lowered and ready to pounce when given the word.

Enchantress scans to squad to Harley, smirking, " _You once feigned loyalty to me."_

"You fell for it," Harley spat back.

 _"Keeping the act up still, I see? You claim to be the most unpredictable here, but your heart is an open book. You want that normality you were robbed of. Does he_ really _love you? Through all the abuse and fights and dismissals—_ oh _, he charms you with his words and he wins you back each time, but you grow tired. And it will_ break _you once you realize as much."_

Harley, for once, doesn't have a retort ready, keeping her mouth shut tight as Enchantress glares over them all.

 _"I offered you the perfect world—everything you ever wanted—and you traded it to return to your cages! To return to Waller! Even now, she threatens to kill you all! How will you see your daughter if you die in the jungle, thousands of miles away from her? Your_ dearest Puddin' _…will he even_ mourn _?"_ Enchantress taunts, mulling over the squad.

" _You doubt I can return loved ones to you, yet before you stand two fallen comrades-"_

"Yeah, that's a lie!" Diablo shouts. Enchantress scowls— _always this one_. "You didn't bring us back! We got caught up in your twisted afterlife and piggy-backed here! You can't bring others back to life!"

Enchantress shrugged.

 _"I can show you your greatest desire-"_

Harleen Quinzel stands in her pristine kitchen, two blonde toddlers clapping gleefully in their chair as a husband—normal, completely, down to the tie—walks back into the room, having forgotten his work briefcase.

 _"I can show your greatest nightmares-"_

Rick stands at the edge of the gurney, watching June's stiff, cold body be zipped in a body bag. Just the mortician is left—the doctors have long since given up on the deceased.

 _"-The future-"_

Lawton watches a young adult—a lady in her own right, with kids of her own and a past and life he hasn't been a part of for years—somberly stand and turn away from him as he sits, chained to the other side of the glass. He's missed her growing up—he's missed everything.

 _"-I could right the wrongs of your past-"_

Katanna's sword is laid down. A figure is knelt just behind the tatami mat, just out of view, but she knows the face—the man. It's her husband. She doesn't pick up the sword to avenge his death because he isn't dead.

 _"-Anything you wanted. I could give it to you-"_

GQ stands at his childhood home's front step. His mother is inside, dressed in black, staring at pictures she set out of him months ago. He'll knock and step through this door, and she'll never wear black again. They'll hang those pictures back up properly next to the ones of his father and he'll kick up dust in the house so it won't feel like a mausoleum. He'll get a job that keeps him in town—safe—and settle down. His mother would like that. _He'd_ like that.

" _-You've_ seen _what I can do. You_ know _everything I say is the truth. So don't_ fight _me…_ join _me-"_

* * *

Waylon Jones stares down at his arms. A moment ago he stood against a towering demon, clawing and punching at the entity.

Now he holds newspaper in one hand—a normal, fleshy hand—and a mug in the other. He looks up and he's in the doorway of a house—an actual house. Not a sewer. A _house_.

A neighbor across the city street notices him and waves.

"The game tonight, am I right?"

Jones nods at the man speaking to him—casually, friendly. The neighbor waves his good mornings and returns to his house. Waylon stares again at the mug. It's actual food, and it's actual daylight, and he's actually normal. And he's been normal his whole life.

It's a strange feeling, but he doesn't know why. It shouldn't be such a foreign concept—having skin. Everyone has it—his neighbors, who he knows all by name, and his co-workers. Strangers, who he's never wished an ill-will towards, have it. He shrugs off the sensation and turns back into his home. It's bright, light fed in by windows with curtains drawn back, and he closes the door behind him.

He can't forget to feed the fish on his way out, he reminds himself.

* * *

"GQ" Edwards raises his fist, ready to knock at the door of his mother's house. He grew up in this house. Had his first kiss out back by the shed. Broke his arm in the tree out front. He repainted this porch with his father when he was a kid and then paced the same porch when he waited to hear back from the hospital if his father would be alright. He received the call and sat on the porch swing when his father wasn't.

His fist is still raised, and he can faintly hear his mother rocking in his grandmother's chair. The windows are open, letting the faint West Coast breeze through the house, but other than that nothing stirs inside.

Everything is so still.

GQ keeps his hand raised, but doesn't knock.

* * *

Rick sits up in bed, frantic. _Was it June_ , he immediately thinks. _Did she have a nightmare? Is that why he's awoken suddenly-_

" _Buongiorno_ ," June greets him, standing in the doorway.

Rick takes in the sight of her; of his surroundings. This is more than a hotel room—an apartment. This is a house. With goddamn wooden floors and crown molding and decorative paintings—he can see a stairwell behind June, outside their bedroom, and knows there's several rooms tacked on. June herself looks tanner and healthier than he ever recalls—she's once again the happy, bright young lady he saw in the pictures in his mission file so many months— _years_?—ago.

But more than that, she looks _really_ healthy.

There's a glow to her, and she's put on weight. She no longer looks thin or starved as she appears after long periods of being overtaken by Enchantress. There's not one sign that Enchantress is a part of her at all.

He keeps staring at her stomach, and when she notices, she laughs.

"Do you want to try to listen? There won't be a heartbeat yet…"

She steps towards him, still in the bed, but he's now bewildered, searching her eyes for what she means.

She looks at him, anticipating and eager and _happy_ , and finally gives in to laughing at his expression.

"Go ahead! I swear you've checked every day since I told you, and every day since I told you I've _also_ told you that you won't hear the heartbeat for a few more weeks now! Not until we go to our appointment at the end of the month, at least…"

She trails off but Rick really isn't listening to her. He loves the sound of her voice, but his mind has gone blank and slowly he's wrapped his hands around her waist, pulling her close and tilting his head against her midriff, ear to her stomach.

She runs her hand through his hair and he feels the cold metal band on her finger—they're married, he realizes, when he feels the same band on his own hand.

She swears up and down that he won't hear the baby's heartbeat, and maybe it's his own pumping in his ear, but he hears the pounding, pumping of a heart, and he's never held something as precious as he does now.

* * *

It's Deadshot this time that comes to from the reverie first. Visions of his triumph against Batman have long been replaced with endless time with his daughter, but he almost immediately can tell it's hollow. Even in a magical, fantastical illusion he can tell it's not his daughter—not his Zoe. Its bittersweet when she tries to cry for him to stay, _do not do this—do not separate them, again_. But he clears his mind and swears to lay out a whole lot of pain of this witch for trying to manipulate him by using his daughter— _again_.

Except she's not really trying to win any of them over—just distract them.

Buy time for her brother and the ritual.

Nearly at the same time as Deadshot, behind by only a fraction of a second, is Katanna and Harley both. Katanna yells her way out of her dream world—something was off. She never saw her husband's—that man—face. She wasn't sure it was even him.

Harley comes out of her trance quietly; somberly. It's unlike her, but something about her seems shattered and Deadshot reminds himself if they make it out of this alive he'll press further. Was Enchantress' vision too bland? Not exciting enough for Harley? How lackluster had it been that she just snapped out of it, disenchanted.

Harley catches sight of Lawton staring and shrugs, throwing up a quick smile, "The kitchen was all wrong. _Yellow_? It ain't my color."

Diablo is curled in on himself, nursing a bruised rib. Deadshot quickly assesses that Enchantress didn't bother with giving him a vision—he's far enough back from the group and beside a pillar that Lawton can guess what happened.

That just leaves GQ, KC and Flag.

Harley runs over to GQ, trying to shake him.

"You better not be dreamin' about Flag's girl. He might kill ya for that!"

Despite her quip, she seems nervous. How do you break someone out of a spell like Enchantress'? She goes for a classic—a slap.

* * *

GQ lets his hand fall to his side.

 _Sorry, mom._

He's spent enough time in a dimension that wasn't real to know the difference between reality and a mirage. He's spent eternity shifting between memories of this old farm house. It's not a dream. It's not even a nightmare.

It's just a reminder of a reality, a life, which he no longer has.

* * *

GQ comes to at the exact moment Harley Quinn hits him.

" _What_ -?!"

"It worked!"

Adjusting his jaw, GQ gives her a look that lets her know it, in fact, did not work. Not the slap, at least.

Katanna approaches Croc, but he snarls immediately, warning her not to pull Quinn's crap.

"What got you?" Harley asks, casually—as if this happens occasionally to them all.

"Fish tank," is all he provides.

Deadshot eyes Flag, inhaling and muttering to himself.

"Get your head outta your ass, Flag. Your girlfriend is a tease."

* * *

He lies on the bed, on his side, facing June. She's been beaming the entire time, despite neither of them saying a word.

She breaks the silence with a whisper.

"I really like this."

He chuckles.

"Me too."

 _A lot_ , he thinks.

This is how things are supposed to be.

His smile fades and his face grows serious. June still beams.

"I won't leave you. Not again."

She's still smiling but she closes her eyes. For a second, he thinks she'll correct him—it's _"us"_ now—but, still smiling, she instead just warns,

"Don't forget your other promise to me."

And when her eyes open, her smile is gone.

" _Stop her_."

By any means necessary.

And the bed and the world is spinning and June disappears and so does Italy and their family and their lives and Rick is instead facing Deadshot, standing in the ruins of a temple with Enchantress, possessing June, struggling to stand before them all.

* * *

"We have to stop the ritual!"

Flag hesitates, hearing Deadshot's warning but not acting immediately. His mind is still far and away with June and he can't bring himself to do it—he's not a soldier anymore, _not right now, June_. Right now, he's a man—a man in love who can't pull the trigger against June. _They saved her before, they can do it again._

Deadshot looks expectantly at him, waiting for the plan of action, but it doesn't come.

"Flag?!"

"Hang on!" Rick yells, and in a few strides he's making his way up to Enchantress. Incubus is occupied, lifting columns and pillars and rearranging the ancient hall. The heart is still suspended before Enchantress, and she cowers slightly as Rick approaches her. He offers out a hand as the others stand by, bewildered.

"June—June, you're in there. I _know it_ , June—c'mon, _June_. Fight her! _C'mon_!"

Enchantress lets out a low chuckle, "She can't hear you. She's gone. Be proud—she was a strong vessel, to have kept me to this world for so long, and she even manipulated my magic against me to protect you—but that was the extent of her worth and power. She is _gone_."

Flag grinds his teeth.

" _June_!"

He reaches for her, but Enchantress flicks her hand and he's sent back. Deadshot is by his side instantly.

Deadshot hasn't taken his eyes off Flag, weighing the man—judging if he can complete the mission. His actions just now confirmed it.

He can't.

* * *

"Even if it means killing me."

June walks away, because that's the end of it.

Except it's not.

Rick follows her, shaking his head violently. There space at the Political Suites isn't big, but it's spacious enough to include a wall between the expansive bedroom and the kitchen. June is there, leaning against the counter with her hands gripping the granite. Rick is behind her instantly, tugging her arms around to face him.

"I'm sorry, June, but that's not it. I won't promise to kill you if it means stopping her—she can be stopped. She has to be."

"Waller thinks that holding her heart is enough but it's not! I can feel her—she's plotting something. She's there, always—and I can…I can sense that she's planning something—something big. And holding her heart might not be enough—but killing the host? That-"

"-June, _stop_!"

Rick hates this. He hates arguing with June. He hates fighting with her about possession and witches and having to shoot the woman he loves. Normal couples argue about moving in together, or getting married, or how much money to spend on groceries and whether they can afford a new wash machine and dryer or if they should visit his parents or hers for Fourth of July.

Normal couples don't ask each other to be their contingency plan.

"Rick…it's the only way-"

"-Like hell it is. I'm sorry June, but don't ask this of me."

"Waller will have someone else do it, if you can't. You're a soldier Rick—this is a mission. I am your assignment—I always have been. You'll see that much through, won't you?"

 _Damn it._

Because she's right. He's a soldier, and he knows there's a dark place in him that would shoot the woman he loves if it meant stopping the witch—saving the world.

Rick knows it, and he hates it.

He slams a fist against the cabinet, biting at the other fist, before exhaling and opening his arms for June. She takes one step into his embrace and he holds her, nodding slowly. He doesn't say it out loud, but with his solemn nod he's giving his consent.

Yes, he'll stop the witch by any means necessary.

And four days later, when Deadshot laughs at him and tells him that he "knows the dark places too" Rick can't help but think how it's most likely a dark place to go to shoot the love of your life.

* * *

"Diablo, _now_!"

The meta nods and leaps at Incubus—his flames envelope the god and Incubus crouches instantly. Enchantress snarls, but her concern is her heart—she eyes it, recognizing the distance she still needs to cover, and for a moment she contemplates teleporting, but the exertion has her fall to her knees and she hisses when she notices Katanna and Harley both sprinting towards their discarded weapons, ready to change course for the heart as soon as their possessions are back in hand.

 _"No!"_ Except it's both Enchantress and Flag who yell, but it's Flag who Deadshot steps in front of.

"You said you could do this-"

"You'll _kill_ June!"

"You know what a hero would do? A _hero_ would be given option A or option B and he'd find a C. We're _bad_ guys. We pick between A and B. You're trying to find a C. We've already chosen option A—the lives of the many outweigh the life of one. _This_ —this is why we're the bad guys."

And then Deadshot shot him.

He aimed his magnums, pulled the trigger, and Flag fell, gripping his leg.

Lawton had shot him.

Flag screamed, not because of the pain but because now his team had turned on him and were willing to do the one thing he swore he'd never have to do again—choose between saving June and saving the world.

Katanna, sword in hand, leaps at the heart, but Enchantress waves a hand, throwing her back. Enchantress is still on her knees, practically foaming with desperation and anger. Croc and Diablo both are swung at and thrown across the room by Incubus, whose metal exterior is red hot from Diablo's flames.

Katanna lands, skidding, across the room, but stops when her body rolls into someone's legs—Harkness.

" _Digger_?!"

Captain Boomerang looks like he can barely stand. Blood is pouring down the back of his neck, drenching his back and clothes. He looks like he'll faint at any moment, but in his hand is a combined grenade of explosives and wires. Atop it all looks to be a piece of meat, but looking closer it's just a bloodied bomb the size of a rice grain; the nanomite.

" _Oi_ , Diablo, here!"

Boomer tosses the bomb, kneeling beside Katanna who is up instantly and holding him steady by the shoulder. She grips her hand in his free one and the moment the bomb has slipped from his fingertips, he collapses and she catches him.

Diablo looks up in time to see the bomb soaring—not towards him, but at Incubus. The perfect arch, Boomerang _is_ a master at throwing—Diablo raises his hands and aims a stream of flames at the bomb, timing it just as the clump of explosives approaches Incubus.

Deadshot turns to face the heart, aiming his magnums. Harley stands on the opposite end of the room, facing the same subject with her pistol in hand. They aim, steady their arms, and pull the triggers.

Enchantress screams just as the fuse is lit and the bullets hit.

The new heart, and Incubus, both blow at the same time.

Everyone is thrown back, the blast of the bomb sending Diablo out cold against a pillar while the heart crumbles in a flash of light.

* * *

Katanna is crouched over Digger, his head in her lap. His blood stains her legs, but she ignores it.

Harley struggles to lift herself nearby, glancing at Digger and wincing. He looks at her through one eye.

"Nice firecracker. What'd you do? Pull the bomb from yer neck?"

"Exactly, mate," He wheezes.

"Y'know, there was like a one-billionth of a chance that you _wouldn't_ set it off by pulling a stunt like that?"

"彼女は正しい."

Digger tries to shrug but doesn't have any comeback.

It didn't, and he's alive—and tired.

He slips asleep, alarming Katanna, but Harley nods at him, "Let him rest. Once we're done here, we'll sew him up and he'll be just as cruddy and cranky as before."

Katanna nods, relieved.

Deadshot is gripping his own neck. It's a miracle none of their bombs have gone off by now—either from all this fighting or Waller—and he doesn't believe in miracles.

Diablo is nearest him, barely conscious, but Deadshot nods at him.

"See? There are ways to defeat 'em without sacrificing yourself."

Deadshot looks at him, hollow, and asks a question that weighs more to Diablo than any of the others—"What now?"

Deadshot doesn't have an answer, and he doesn't try to bullshit one to Chato either. He just purses his lips together and shrugs.

"We go home."

All of them, he guesses.

* * *

Rick can feel blood still pumping out of his wound in his thigh, but he ignores it. Because convulsing ahead of him is Enchantress—June—and he half crawls, half limps, to approach her.

On the way to her, he catches sight of the piece of jade that had been sacrificed to her new heart. He swipes at it and collapses beside Enchantress.

She's gagging, on her back and choking seemingly on collapsed lungs. There is no Enchantress vanishing this time—there are no runes, no rituals, no heart. She _will_ die.

And she'll take June with her.

"Use my heart."

Rick opens his palm, offering the jade.

"Use my heart as yours." He's talking directly to Enchantress. June is dying, and if saving her means making a deal with the devil—the witch—he'll do it.

"Flag-"

Deadshot is standing behind the duo, warning him, but Rick ignores him.

"You'll have a heart, and you'll be alive. You won't be able to take it back from me—not with June protecting me-" _that's not how it should have to be,_ he reminds himself, but pushes the thought aside for later. "But you'll have a heart."

Enchantress' wide, wild eyes are fading fast, but she looks him up and down, weighing the preposition.

" _Use my heart!"_ Flag yells, rushing her decision. "You'll be _alive_ , you'll stay in this world—You and June, both. And you can plot and scheme all you want to get it back but…but you'll be alive."

Desperate, Enchantress doesn't wait any longer. She lifts her hands, shaking, and the jade stone levitates.

It breaks down molecularly, turning into dust, and as if blown on a current enters Rick's body through his wound. He feels the magic rising through his bloodstream and groans in pain when it hits his heart.

He buckles over just as Enchantress grabs at his neck, pulling him towards her.

And then he's kissing the witch.

He's disgusted, but reminds himself this is June—and this is to save June. And he can taste the blood in her mouth and realizes this is just another transaction in the transformation.

So he kisses back and he accepts whatever part of the ritual this is and he closes his eyes.

When he opens them again, Enchantress is gone.

June is here instead.

He pulls apart and June gasps for air, breathing as if she has held her breadth for hours.

"R-Rick?!"

Rick grips June so hard in a hug he's afraid he'll break her.

"Wh-what's going on?!"

Rick doesn't feel very different, but he knows it's worked. He knows he did it—he saved June. Without killing her, he saved her.

"We stopped the ritual." He breathes into her neck, and God it feels good to hold her again.

"H-how?!" June is still frantic, wide-eyed and confused. She's looking past him at everyone surrounding them.

Diablo is supported between Croc and Harley, and GQ is rising slowly to his feet. June is happy to see they're both alive. She can make out Katanna laying further off, with a body in her lap—Captain Boomerang?

Deadshot stands over the embracing couple.

"Your man hear is hosting the witch's new heart."

"WhaT?!"

June pulls Rick back, looking him squarely in the face.

"It was the only way to save you."

She should be mad—or grateful—but honestly, she's just tired. June wants to slap him, or thank him, or scream because she's alive or cry because so is Enchantress. But things feel different. Enchantress is subdued in her own mind, licking her wounds. She's defeated, but alive. And so is June…

June blacks out almost instantly, falling forward into Rick's arms.

The last thing she hears is his voice, and she feels the warmth of his arms.

" _June_?!"

* * *

 _They said that you would call_

 _And take it all, it's history_

 _And we're laughing until the end_

* * *

 **A/N:** Someone asked (Sorry I forget your name momentarily!) if GQ was falling in love with June last chapter-it kinda seemed that way, but I want to assure you all he isn't, and poked fun at it with Harley in this chapter. Enchantress was shown to be more promiscuous and "touchy"-to turn her soldiers in the movie, she sealed the transformation with a kiss, so I was kinda nodding to that-and again in this chapter with Flag and the heart-and GQ definitely is concerned for June; him and Diablo spent time with her in the dimension and I needed another voice of concern and friendship for June because the rest of the Squad really has only interacted with Flag-they're his "friends" where as June, not Enchantress, only has Flag; so, I really wanted to kinda pull GQ more under her wing so there were other's stakes and care towards June involved and not just Flag's like in the movie...

The flashback on the parking garage seemed a bit OOC and I struggled with whether it could open this chapter or not or if it fit, but I liked the hints it showed of the brave, outspoken, more adventurous June, who will eventually be chipped away to be mousy and meek due to Enchantress. It also alludes to an extension of conversation from the novelization of the movie where Rick and June do discuss, alone in Midway city in a scene not in the movie, about how Flag thinks Waller can and is going to find a way to extract Enchantress and "cure" June, where as in the movie at least it's heavily implied Waller is not at all going to do that-Enchantress is too powerful and valuable.

I debated whether killing Diablo again, and up until writing this chapter really I decided he's too precious and he should live-Characters like him who have tragic pasts and are implied to "never find inner peace" until they die? Yeah, I really want a character with those same issues who _does_ find a way to live with themselves-there should be more characters who show that you can repent and that death isn't the only option...

For the dream sequences, I didn't originally intend to only show the people who had missed out last time (+ Rick)-originally, I wanted to use those scenes as some transitional scenes to break up the scene since this chapter is just one long scene. But, I also didn't want to write out everyone's and it just happened I wrote GQ, Katanna and Croc's-There's a bit of a open-interpretation if you're a hardcore KaBoom shipper (I'm slowly becoming one, but trying to subdue the undertones as best I can for _this_ fic) when Enchantress asks if Katanna's husband is who she really meant when she says she can bring "him" back and also when you never see the man in Katanna's dream's face-you can interpret it as either her husband or Digger~

If the ending doesn't make sense, the gist of it is that Flag's heart now serves as his and Enchantress'; It works out great, cause June will fight Enchantress as well as has that charm-thing goin' on to protect Flag, so Enchantress can't just rip out Flag's heart whenever she wants (She may or may not try, who knows~) but she now has a heart in this world to tie her to it, and so she lives and June lives and everyone's happy~!

Except this is the halfway point of this fic, so a whole other conflict starts up next chapter which I'm excited about! Waller never pulled the trigger on the bombs...

Sorry this note was long, there was a lot I wanted to discuss! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	8. By the Throat

Sorry this is coming out so delayed! I started school this week again, so updates will probably go now to once a week! I'm sorry again, but everyone's encouraging reviews and words were wonderful and I'm by no means giving up on this story! I'm just having to now adjust with school starting up again :/

Disclaimer: I own nothing! This chapter s probably the shortest..? There's quite a bit of scattered language, an F bomb...

I would've liked to fluff this chapter a little more, but it sets up the second half of the story and so it just moves along...Hope you enjoy it still though!

* * *

 _With teeth we've come this far_

 _I'll take this thing by the throat and walk away_

* * *

"So what 'bout the souls _'n_ shit?"

Boomerang follows up his own question with a yelp.

" _Gentle_ , Sheila!"

Harley rolls her eyes and continues to thread the needle and sew at Boomerang's neck.

He currently lies on his stomach, inside one of the stucco houses of the village, with Harley cross-legged next to him, dressing the slit in his neck. Next to them, Katanna sits on her knees, patiently observing the two injured members. Because beside Boomerang, on her own separate bed, is June.

And right at _her_ side is Rick.

"Keep your voice down, will ya?" Harley snaps at Boomerang. He eyes her, clearly to say _'I don't give a fuck_ ', but nonetheless lowers his voice to what he thinks passes as a whisper.

"It took souls to make tha' heart, _didn't it_? Fire boy blew this village an' all..?"

Katanna stares at him silently, warning him to show respect to the couple that remains within earshot.

Harley sighs. She's not as unbreakable as Katanna is.

"Who knows—maybe the witch needs a certain amount of life in her heart? An' since Flag isn't dead, he can provide the souls or whateva she needs."

"Question; am I under that same charm thingy like the rest of you?"

Harley groans, because "Question" has been the game they'd been playing for the past hour ever since they'd filled Digger in on everything he'd missed.

She purposely tugs at the thread a bit too tightly, and Boomerang let out a string of curses because of it.

"Oops. Sorry, _Sheila_ ," Harley winked, to which Boomerang just whined.

"Can't literally _anyone_ else stitch me up?"

"I'm a _doctor_!"

"Yer not _that_ kind!"

* * *

Flag ignores the trio for the most part. He watches June sleep, breathing slowly and her chest rising and falling with a tempo that makes his heart jump every time it hesitates.

He's spent the past several hours forming his own theories on why his heart was acceptable—why Enchantress accepted his bargain.

Sure, she needed souls- needs life- to pump her heart. Maybe Harley is right in that sense. And he thinks of that copper tasting kiss, and realizes now it was her way of not only sealing the deal, but of mixing her blood into his own. Mixing her magic into him. And the jade that now courses through his blood? Just another piece of her, to tie herself to him.

He wonders if Enchantress will die when he does. _Will June die?_

June stirs and Rick is attentively hovering over her as she does.

But, it's a false alarm and she stills herself. Flag sighs, before noticing that the room is quiet for the first time and glances over at the trio sharing the hospice—they're all three looking at him.

Harley and Katanna quickly look away, shameful to have been caught, while Boomerang keeps staring—until Harley pinches his wound and he yelps at her again.

Flag flares his nostrils, irritated, but doesn't say anything. He instead stands.

"Watch her for me, Katanna. I'm going to check on the others."

Katanna bows, accepting the command, while Flag steps past them all and ducks under the curtain door.

* * *

Outside, the village is far more welcoming to the strangers this time. "Returning Heroes"—not for their defeat of the witch, which Flag doubts anyone will know of, but for saving the village from the 'fire demon'.

Said 'fire demon' stands at the edge of the village, against a wall, talking in a low voice with Deadshot. The two are on a watch, as if expecting Waller to rain down on the village with troops at any moment. Killer Croc and GQ are entertaining some local children. Their favorite attraction? Gripping to Croc's arms and being lifted. They find his skin fascinating, and with his strength he can lift them as if they weigh nothing, which amuses them endlessly.

Flag won't interrupt the children's fun, instead opting to approach Lawton and Santana.

"Well?" Floyd greets him. "How's the witch?"

Flag scowls at Deadshot, "She's still asleep."

"And her heart?"

Flag still finds the situation baffling, and nods awkwardly. "I ain't casting any spells or trynna take over the world, so…"

"Good to know the potential side effects included that." Deadshot nods, sarcastically.

"What now?" Chato motions at Flag.

Flag rubs at the back of his neck.

"I don't know. It's up to you—you're free, far as I'm concerned."

Lawton straightens up. "You ain't gonna try to...bring us in?"

Flag shakes his head.

"Nope."

"This cause we, ah, helped save your girl?"

Flag nods, and then shrugs. "I'm as much a criminal and on the run as you all. I don't have the authority to bring any of you in."

"Not even a citizen's arrest?"

"Lawton," Flag warns.

Deadshot throws his arms up in surrender. "Alright, alright! But, just know Flag…You ain't _half_ the criminal that _we_ all are."

Flag laughs out loud at this, which is a relief because he's been scowling practically since June went missing. He shakes his head in agreement, "I suppose that's right."

The trio are stirred from their conversation as Katanna shouts from across the clearing.

"She's awake!"

* * *

Enchantress huddles in the back of June's mind, licking her wounds. She's weak and scrappy, but she is alive and slowly healing.

June can feel all this, while she sleeps, and even as she wakes, she knows Enchantress is still there, in her.

She knows that they both are alive.

It's all fuzzy, and her surroundings aren't helping her recall anything. Currently, all she knows is Enchantress is still a part of her and…

And her memories stop there.

She looks forward.

A man with a scruffy beard and wide eyes, only punctuated by his dark circles, stares at her. He's lying on his stomach, with a pale girl leaning over him, also staring.

June knows their faces…

She's trying to recall their names, but then her focus shifts to her surroundings and she's even more lost. The walls are dirt and she's on a blanket on the ground—this surrounding doesn't jog her memory as anywhere she's been, but it's familiar enough a setting that maybe..?

Then the dark sheet over the doorway is pulled aside and a figure stands, surrounded by the light he now is letting in.

June adjusts her eyes and sees his face.

 _Rick._

And it all floods back to her.

The ritual, the dimension; Incubus, Enchantress; Her setting up the protective barrier with Enchantress' magic around everyone; the fight; Rick's heart…

June jumps at that, trying to stand but stumbling. Rick instantly catches her, but she's frantically shaking her head.

"Wh-what have you _done_? Rick? Y-your _heart_?! What were you _thinking_?"

There are tears in her eyes because _no, Rick, you were never meant to be a part of this_. June wouldn't wish any bit of her fate on anyone else, especially the man she loved. _No, he can't-_

Rick looks concerned, but smiles. He's just happy to see June awake—alive.

"I had to. To save you, June. Enchantress would've taken you with her, back to that dimension or whatever the hell it is. I couldn't lose you, not again—I'm so sorry, June."

He hugs her, pressing her face into his shoulder and she in return grips his sides tightly.

"I-I'm sorry!" She's sniffling, practically hyperventilating.

Rick eyes Harley, and she immediately sees that he needs this moment with June alone. She slaps Boomerang's shoulder and for the first time, Digger understands the situation and silently lifts himself up to exit the hut with Harley and Katanna.

* * *

Alone, Rick breathes a sigh of relief.

"Rick…how'd you know where to find me? Or even to come after me? _Enchantress_ …she said your name—once. When I was in her dimension…"

"I knew something was wrong when you never came back. Honestly, Enchantress herself tipped me off. I thought I was seeing things but…she was there-"

 _The teleporting_ , June remembers. She recalls that pain of Enchantress pushing herself despite being heartless and bound by those cultists.

"-and then Harley broke the squad out…"

" _What?"_

"-And we traced Waller's calls from me to the facility where the ritual had been…But, then you and Incubus appeared and he teleported you all away…So, we took Waller hostage-"

"-Wait, _Rick_ , you did _what_?!"

"She got away, however, when we reached this village, which is where we saved Diablo. He caught us up on what happened with you and led us the rest of the way, and the rest you should know…"

"Rick-! Waller is…she'll be after you now! You're a-a criminal… _How_ are you going to go back..?"

"I'm not."

Rick's smile fades, and he looks June dead in the eyes.

"What Waller did? What she put you through? I'm not going back to work for her. And neither will you."

"She'll brand you a terrorist," June softly remarks.

"So screw her. I told you we were done with her, and that we could run to anywhere you wanted, remember?"

June smiles.

"You mean it?"

"You were thinking Italy, weren't you?"

June tries to smile as confidently as Rick, but it doesn't come so naturally.

"…She's still a part of me. Enchantress…"

Rick exhales.

"I know. But, something tells me we'll manage better this time…"

He holds June's face in his hand, and genuinely looks sad as he whispers, "I'm sorry, June. I know you wanted to be free of her…a-and maybe one day, we'll find a way to extract her or-"

"No."

June shakes her head, grabbing Rick's wrists and pulling them down into her lap.

"You're right. Things will be different this time. Unlike Waller, we're not holding her heart hostage and forcing her to perform tasks…She may still want revenge against the world that caged her, or the people who have tried to use her, but…but things are different now. I can control it— _her_ —better now, I _know_ it! I-I did it with protecting you all before…I know I can fight her. If she tries to get out of control, I…I want to not be so useless anymore."

"June-"

"-You always protect me, Rick. And you say we can go anywhere but Waller will hunt after us—she'll hunt after Enchantress. So, maybe…maybe it's not the worst thing for me to have a bit of power of my own, so I can help."

Rick shakes his head.

"You're not a soldier, June. And you're never going to fight a war—I'll make sure of that. You were always strong, and I know…I know _magic_ and _Enchantress_ and all that makes you feel like you can do anything but…But, remember, June, that Enchantress isn't someone you can control."

"She can't be manipulated, like what Waller did. But she _can_ be controlled—I can fight her for control. This is my body, my mind—I won't let her possess it and use it to harm anyone else. But I also won't fight that she wants to live, and that she's powerful. Powerful enough to protect those I love."

June shifts her hands so they clasp Rick's.

He tries to smile reassuringly, but the knot in his throat reminds him he never wanted this for June. Since the moment he saw her, and Waller told him that they would work to save this poor girl with no priors, he had always believed in the day that would come where June was free of the witch.

And it had come; only to be taken away.

June leans in, pressing her head against Rick's heart.

"So…You and Enchantress share a heart now…"

"I did it to save you, June."

 _Everything_ he does is for June.

"She'll never let you leave her sights, you realize? She'll want to stay by her heart…forever…"

Rick begins to flush, recognizing June's assumption.

"So…you're stuck with me?"

June looks up, concerned, and tries to ask, silently with her eyes, if this is what Rick wants. To be with her? _Forever?_ They'd never spoken of marriage, or long term. They loved and lived as if they couldn't survive without the other, but it was unspoken where they felt their lives would lead.

 _But now?_ They were _literally_ bonded together by their hearts.

Rick's eyes say it all.

He wants to spend the rest of his life with June.

* * *

Of the entirety of the village, only three households have vehicles. It's a small, rural village that takes weekly trips to the main city, where the squad had originally landed. Flag barters American dollars to be taken in the truck bed, his whole team, with the brother-in-law of the widowed woman whose child was reunited with her thanks to Digger and Katanna.

It takes extra convincing (and cash) to allow Diablo passage, as the man is still wary despite others insisting he was possessed by a witch.

They leave first thing the next morning. June still struggles to walk, leaning on Flag simply from the hut to the truck, and Boomerang fusses about his own wound needing "proper treatment."

The crew somehow crams into the bed of the truck while the local drives. Deadshot has his knees pulled to his chest, sitting between Diablo and Croc.

"So…how exactly do we get back into the states? We don't have Waller's little Jedi mind tricks to hand wave us through security. We don't even have passports."

But their newest friend, the local, has a solution for that, too.

He has a cousin in the city who flies cargo planes, which the Squad is to be smuggle on. It'll take them closest to the border, at which point Flag makes a call to a few friends of his in the military. He has them swear to not ask questions and their loyalty to Flag forever makes him grateful. Waller may risk setting up wanted posters of Flag, claiming him to be a terrorist or traitor, but whatever details she gives out would seem too fabricated to those Flag served with. They know him, and they owe him.

Waller won't risk exposing her secret ops just to put Flag behind bars. If he burns, she does too.

Once across the border, the whole squad discusses where to from there. Harley, oddly enough, has contacts in Texas and has fake passports drawn up for all of them. Papers, drivers license—anything the squad was missing is theirs within a few hours wait in a shady part of Austin.

"Well, good on ol' Aussie there, but I'd like to get this damn bomb outta my neck."

Harley winks at Lawton.

"That's my gift to the rest of you~!"

Harley tells them of the surgeon in Gotham who removed her own nanomite. She gives the squad the address and a time to meet her, where she can pull the doctor aside to do this favor for her. She needs a day or two to get things prepped, she claims, and only Deadshot suspects that what she's really doing is trying to set up this operation without Joker catching wind of it. That story still intrigues him, but he keeps his mouth shut.

"What about you, Digger? You're already free."

Harkness shrugs, claims he might thread through the network and see if there's a score comin' up he can jump onto. He looks for a long time at Katanna, either expecting her to scold him or stop him, but she says nothing. She just announces she's returning home. Harkness is the most disappointed with her curt goodbye before she leaves.

"GQ?" Flag asks.

He knows this is a hard transition for the soldier. He was 'dead' for months. He hasn't done anything wrong or illegal—not like Flag and the others—but he still is forced to live laying low. The dead don't return.

GQ is quiet for a while, debating. Debating whether he could put his mother through learning that her son isn't dead. He shrugs.

"Maybe I'll re-enlist."

He's joking, Flag thinks.

"What about you, fireball?"

Diablo is just as quiet as GQ. Coming back to life after being blow up—the nanomite didn't exactly make the trip between the dimensions. He looks around the group, because if he's honest they're all he knows anymore. Deadshot scratches at his temple. He's not a team player, and he's never had a partner, but…

"Stick with us, sweetie," Harley is the one to cut in. "We'll find and set ya up a real nice spot!"

The others smirk, because Harley is practically adopting Diablo, but no one argues.

"And you two?"

Deadshot finally turns to Flag and June. They've been gripping each other's hand tightly, refusing to let go. June is starting to look better-healthier—but by no means is she recovered. Flag looks haggard and tired.

"We're on the run. Any tips?"

Deadshot scoffs.

"Don't let Waller catch you."

Flag nods, "That's priority number one."

* * *

So the crew takes an economy flight to Gotham (Croc crams into a crate to be shipped with luggage, which he isn't happy about but is less happy about the flight in general. Diablo and Harley have a grand ol' time applying thick layers of foundation to their faces to cover tattoos and paleness and blend in. Harley even wears actual a wig and glasses and the Squad gets an idea of what she once looked like, pre-Joker).

With a day to blow, Killer Croc returns to his beloved sewers. He won't stir up trouble—he doesn't want to alert the Bat that he's back in town. Boomerang makes a joke about maybe stopping by—seeing if this surgeon can fix whatever crap job Quinn did on his neck. Diablo holes up in a former gang member's apartment; it's empty this time of year and he wants some time to himself to reflect.

GQ gets a hotel room just outside of Gotham, but gives the entire squad a handshake. He was honored to fight beside them, and he recognizes they're not _all_ bad.

Deadshot then finds himself alone, after Rick and June part ways from the group along with GQ, and is relieved when he finds himself walking the familiar streets of Gotham again.

If he knows his ex, which he does, she'll be at her two work shifts til past seven. It's a bit early and school isn't out yet, but Lawton plans to stay at his ex's apartment and wait there for Zoe.

He can't wait to see her.

He strolls through the apartment, glancing about the place—Zoe's mom could keep it in better shape, and honestly he bets the only reason it isn't a complete trash hole is because of Zoe herself. He gets to the fridge and smirks at the school projects and pinned pictures.

 _Zoe went to the zoo?_ _And he missed that?_

At first, he thinks the gut feeling in his stomach is from what he missed of Zoe's life—quickly, he realizes it's that he missed someone was already in the apartment.

He turns his magnums straight at the intruder's forehead.

"Shoot me, Mr. Lawton, and my agents are instructed to blow that nanomite. Do you want Zoe coming home to two dead bodies, one being her headless father's?"

"Come on in, Waller, have a cup of tea—make yourself at _home_ ," Deadshot pans. "But on that off chance that I didn't invite you in…get the _hell_ out of here."

"Deadshot," Waller continues, casually. She walks towards the dining table—Zoe's jacket is sprawled on the back on a chair. Waller and Lawton are both eyeing it.

"You and your comrades must all be _dying_ to know why the trigger hasn't been pulled."

"We did jut save the world. Again."

"Yes, I've seen the footage. Flag thinks with the help of some soldier buddies he can cross any border without me knowing, but I told you before—I see everything. I am relieved—grateful, actually—that the Taskforce was able to subdue Enchantress. I saw that Dr. Moone looks well—she looks alive."

She doesn't know if Enchantress is still alive or not. Lawton keeps his lips sealed tight—he won't give anything away.

"So, will you come quietly..?"

Deadshot laughs, shaking his head.

"That's it? You just re-arrest me and I go back ' _quietly_ '? Back to your damn Taskforce and suicide squad and we just put this behind us?"

"Absolutely not."

Lawton feels sweat run down the back of his neck.

"Zoe is a remarkable student. Top of her class, great grades; real promise. She could be an agent one day."

"Don't talk about her-" _shit_.

Deadshot recognizes what's going on.

He shakes his head, unbelievable. "So that's how it is…leverage, right?"

"She's in gym as we speak. It's jump rope day," Waller rolls off, "And I can even tell you which trick she's already managed to learn."

Deadshot's fists clench.

"So what? You monitoring her…and if I don't go with you, you'll shoot her? You'd kill an innocent kid?"

"I told you, Mr. Lawton. She'd make a _fine_ agent. I'd have my team pick her up almost instantaneously, and she'd go through a rigorous training program for potential recruits. Young as she is…she'll be very susceptible to learning and growth. I could mold her into the perfect ARGUS agent—tell her to do some good in place of all the bad her father did."

Deadshot is quiet for a long time.

"What do you want?"

"I have everything I want, Floyd. It's what _you_ want. You _want_ to keep Zoe from living the life that you have, don't you?"

It isn't until then that Deadshot lowers his magnums.

* * *

"Hello, Gents!" Harley greets, standing atop a stack of shipping crates and clinging to a chain. The squad seemed to show up at the same time, looking around disgustedly at the warehouse.

"Don't look very sanitary, does it?" Boomerang mumbles to Croc, who merely growls in return.

""What're you doing here, Digger? Thought you didn't like teams."

"I don't. But, I like beer, and somethin' tells me a celebratory bar crawl is happenin' after this."

Diablo smiles, rolling his eyes. Harley leaps down from her perch to greet the criminals physically—hugging everyone but Digger.

When she gets to Deadshot, he's rather stiff and she retracts herself, looking cautiously at him.

"What's the matter, sweetie? I don't git you hard like I used to?"

He smirks briefly at her, but there's something off about him. He eyes the compound, inhaling, "let's get this over with. The doctor here yet?"

Harley nods, still eyeing Deadshot's behavior.

"Yeah, he's out back, settin' up the tools."

"Hey, anyone got Katanna's number on hand, by chance?"

"Keep it in your pants, Digger," Diablo laughs.

Harley hasn't moved on from Lawton.

She's profiling him now. Shifting eyes, lack of eye contact; stiffened muscles. These are signs of nerves; discomfort. Lies.

She steps back suddenly.

" _What'd you do_?"

Deadshot quickly turns to face her, his face betraying nothing but his eyes terrified. Terrified and guilty.

"Wassit?" Boomer asks. Diablo and Croc turn to face the two.

"What's going on?"

"What'd you _do_?!" Harley accuses, and before Deadshot can say anything, gunshots break out.

The building is flooded with SWAT, a smoke bomb, and sniper scopes. They're surrounded and reprehended almost immediately.

Harley is baring her teeth, spitting venom at Deadshot.

" _Traitor_! What, you liked playing _hero_ so much? Ya thought we'd all go our separate ways and never talk again, so you forced the squad back together? What'd she offer you? _Money_? _College_ for your little girl?"

Deadshot doesn't reply. He merely lets the guard roughly cuff his hands behind his back and press him out the garage door. Behind him, his betrayed teammates all curse and struggle against their own restraints.

He can hear Croc roaring behind him as several sedatives are injected into him. Diablo is doused with a gas and approached quickly with a sedative to follow. Digger gets punched in the nose for resistance. Harley is still screaming her head off from behind him.

"I would've _died_ before I sold _any_ of you all out! We were _friends_?! Lawton? _**Floyd**_?!"

* * *

June is only half awake, laying with her head in Rick's lap.

He's promised to her this is the last night she'll ever sleep in a hotel bed. They'll be on the first flight out to Europe tomorrow, and he'll take her to an Airbnb, someplace homely that will be temporary but won't be so dull and blank-walled, and he'll spare no expense in finding them a permanent residence.

They're not picky—something small, something they can make their own. Harley hooked him up in Austin—he's got papers to bypass background checks and even to expedite foreign loans and purchases. They've been up for hours now, brainstorming their dreams for the future they'll make together.

June yawns, "and we don't _have_ to be in the city. We can get someplace in the country, or the outskirts—somewhere we can see stars."

Rick smiles, nodding and brushing her hair back with his hands. Her eyes close and he tries picturing this same image—of her laying in his lap and of them together—but literally anywhere in the world. It's a thrilling thought, and he's all but forgotten about Enchantress.

Then Rick jumps up, reaching for his handheld and lifting June from his lap simultaneously. She's awake now, sitting up and alert.

"Rick? What's wrong?"

He shushes her, eyes trained on the bedroom door.

"I heard something."

It's a tense few moments as the pair stare at the door. June moves behind Rick, but also stands ready to call upon Enchantress if need be.

"Do you think it could be one of the others?" She's hoping its Harley dropping in for an impromptu visit, or Croc offering some homemade gumbo.

Rick hopes as much, too, but has his doubts.

When the window shatters, hell breaks loose.

Rick shoots without looking directly outside, and the door busts open only to be greeted by two more rounds.

An armored body falls and two more step over it from the hall.

June is slow to react, and feels the prick of a dart hit her neck. Before she can form the word, she slumps to her side.

"June?!"

Rick, distracted, catches her, but three red dots are trained on him and with his hands full with June, he's forced to surrender.

In files half a dozen ARGUS members, and standing in the middle of them is none other than Waller.

"Are we interrupting?" Waller smirks, because she knows she's won. She motions to two men beside her who approach Rick and June.

Rick isn't about to stand for someone else touching June and grips at her tighter. She isn't unconscious, but she's been drugged and her eyes are wide but words are slow to form. Rick shifts the handheld in his hand, ready to pull the trigger if anyone approaches one step further, but he suddenly feels the cold nozzle of a gun to his head.

Waller stands over him.

"Let her go."

Rick, furious, allows a guard to force him to stand while another pulls away June. June reacts several seconds too late, delayed in her motions, and mumbles out Rick's name through the side of her lips. Rick's gun is swatted from his hand and kicked away.

June is jerked into the arms of a guard who immediately proceeds to gag her, just as her bearings are returning and she tries to scream.

" _Hey_! Let her go, Waller!"

"Not a chance. This is the most in control of her we've ever been." Waller nods towards Flag. "We can control Dr. Moone and Enchantress with one heart—yours. Two birds," She motions to June, struggling against her gag, "one stone-" to Flag.

Flag jerks at the restraints.

"How'd-?!"

"A little hitman told us the whole story. Everything. I know all about Enchantress, and the dimension. The Squad is already back in my custody—you're the last stop of the night."

 _Lawton?_ Rick is perplexed. _Why…?_

"You..!"

He knows how Waller works. Lawton wouldn't willingly turn on anyone. No, Waller went after Floyd's family.

She went after Zoe.

"They were valuable assets, and we went through enough trouble rounding them up the first time. And it's an added bonus that Chato Santana and Lt. Edwards are less dead than previously thought. Santana will rejoin the Taskforce, and Edwards is being detained as we speak. He'll be taken to a black listed facility to be experimented upon—it's not everyday someone comes back from the dead."

 _No…_

"Miss Quinn and Mr. Harkness will have their nanomites re-implanted. Diablo, too," Waller shrugs, as an afterthought. "With Deadshot's loyalty and obedience, the team is projected to perform even better than before."

"You're holding his daughter hostage!"

"I haven't touched Zoe," Waller innocently chimes.

Rick grinds his teeth, looking between Waller and June. Scared, weak June who hasn't fully recovered from before but still wanted so badly to be strong and fight and keep him safe. He's supposed to keep her safe. Why wasn't he keeping watch? He slipped up, he was careless, and…and Lawton…

" _Fine_ , Waller- You win, you have us, but let her go-"

"-With _you_? You really _don't_ get it…Things are different this time. Before, away from you she would be locked in a cell, pumped with drugs and in a vegetative state to keep an eye on her. She had to be restrained and kept away from her heart. So why would we freely let her be near it now?" Waller shook her head, "no. You're not going to step any closer to Dr. Moone or Enchantress. Not ever."

She nods at the guards and June is begun being pulled away, back towards out of the room. Flag kicks out the leg of his apprehender, yelling as he does so. Three more men rush him, pinning him back.

" _June_! _**June**_!"

He struggles as one swings a fist into his gut.

"You can't…you can't _do_ this. Bring June back!"

"Love is a weakness. You never believed me. Do you finally now?"

Waller again nods at someone standing nearby. A syringe is pulled forth and June further struggles.

" _Stop it_! Leave her alone!"

The agent ignores Rick's protests and proceeds to inject June. She struggles, then stiffens.

"You bitch! Dammit, Waller—Leave June alone!"

"Mr. Flag. You are now a classified supernatural entity. Your heart is shared with that of the witch Enchantress. This would label you as dangerous. You can cooperate, and have a sliver of a chance of seeing Dr. Moone again on accompanying missions, or you can be thrown in Bel Reve for your terroristic crimes against this country and for the safety of others as you are now a threat to humanity's safety."

Flag has tears in his eyes, hot with anger. If he had a gun, he swears he'd shoot Waller here and now.

"It is because of my previous respect for you in the past that I'm not immediately detaining you at the criminal level. You are allowed some freedom in this situation—as much as Dr. Moone was provided before when accompanied by a security detail. However, if you would prefer to be treated otherwise, I can just as easily give those orders, too."

Finally, Flag bows his head in defeat.

"Just…don't hurt June."

Waller nods slowly.

"Good choice, Colonel."

* * *

 _All that's golden is never real_

 _And I won't play fair with you this time_

 _All that's golden is never sold_

 _And I'll be thankful when you let go_

* * *

 **A/N:** Harley's shouting at Lawton could be seen as OOC, but it's really implied at the end of the movie that she does see these people as her friends, and especially after the events of this story I think she considers them as such and she does seem the loyal type-plus, she feels really betrayed on a 'honor amongst thieves' level, so she's maybe blowing up her anger on Lawton slightly out of proportion.

As I said in the beginning, this is a short chapter with very little Fluff. I left out any flashbacks of June and Rick because they're together in this chapter finally (til the end) where as before the flashbacks served as scenes and moments of them together when the story itself had them apart. But, flashbacks will return next chapter cause, spoiler, Waller isn't gonna keep them together. Enchantress also is absent from this chapter, but she's kinda healing. She'll be back and forefront and I'll show how her and June's relationship stands in the upcoming chapters-June isn't dumb enough to think she can control Enchantress completely, I mean she was terrified of the witch in the movie and her capabilities and I wanted to show that she's stronger now but there will always be a reserved defense against Enchantress and when dealing with her.

This chapter really was just a "everyone is back in the States and Waller plays her hand" chapter, so there wasn't much of everyone's POV or reactions-next chapters will return to that. Still gotta grow the characters out. But, I didn't want to bloat this chapter up too much cause I wanted it to pace kinda quickly-you see them free, but their freedom barely lasts and now they're all in shit conditions that you have to wait to see. GQ is literally going to become a science experiment according to Waller because ARGUS isn't familiar with how magic works, no one really is, and they thought he was dead-now he's not. Those who had escaped the bomb, like Digger and Harley, now have returned to it and you know security at least on Harley will be amplified-they can't risk Joker breaking her out again. Lawton's daughter is no longer a carrot-she's the stick. He's not being rewarded with visits to her anymore-now, Waller is threatening uprooting Zoe and training her to be as heartless as Waller is, all under the pretense of "do good where your father did wrong"-last thing Lawton wants is for Zoe to be entering the killing-and-heartlessness of the life choice he made; he wants her to be normal. And Waller made mistakes last time with Enchantress; she won't repeat them. So everyone is kinda in a way worse off position than before..

Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, I'm sorry it took so long and that it's short to boot! But, next chapter will be up sometime this week when I can write it between classes and such and I hope you enjoy the next chapter too when it comes out! THank you for continuing to read!


	9. Lungs

I just...have no excuse for why this chapter took so long :( I'm so sorry! School started and life got in the way and-I'm just so sorry.

 **Thank you** to everyone who encouraged me to continue this story-it is my full intention to complete this story...I just can't promise I'll be able to do so as quickly as I'd like!

Disclaimer: I own nothing and there's a few F-bombs and other language in this chapter surprisingly!

I hope you enjoy, and I'm sorry if the quality of this chapter is not nearly worth the wait I put you readers through! I'm terribly sorry!

* * *

 _We're alone this time_

 _Keep yourself a secret_

 _You should know that_

 _I will sell you a future you don't want_

 _Like I did last time_

* * *

Everything is blurry and glossy and saturated. It's like looking at the world through several different filters and lenses and it hurts her eyes to look but it hurts to close them. If she squirms too much, she feels the sharp pain of the needles and tubes, but if she doesn't move at all then she forgets the feeling of her limbs; of her body.

She can't make out the words spoken around her, occasionally, but she can constantly hear the witch's screaming in her head.

It's a bad trip; a dream she can't stir from. A nightmare she can't wake up in.

Sometimes Waller is there. That much she can make out is not a hallucination. She looms over her, administering her professional opinion that "the witch needs a higher dosage", followed always by the concerned staff that ask if that's a good idea. They fear the witch could die; or worse.

That she'll somehow break out, and know what they did to her and who exactly did-she wasn't known to be the most merciful person.

 _Fuck_ that.

She was plenty merciful, even to those who killed her brother. She offered them a chance-a chance to be spared-and they tricked her.

June isn't sure who exactly is thinking this vengeful thought. Her? Enchantress? Who is in control right now? It must be her-it's her body, right? Or maybe Enchantress is in control, and June is merely experiencing all the pain and sharing the vision, too. Everything is cloudy and confusing.

And when it's at its most painful-when the peak of drugs being flushed into her and the dissolution of them into her blood and body match-she thinks of Rick. She focuses on his face and his words-he'll save her. He'll put an end to her. He promised. And through tears and drool, June's body smiles and finds solace in the thought that Rick will save her.

Rick will kill her.

* * *

Flag wakes in his solitary bed far too early after far too little sleep. The sun isn't up, bleeding through his bare window, and his summoning beeper hasn't even gone off. He has no reason to be awake right now, as exhausted as he's been.

Except that June isn't there.

He doesn't know where she is—Waller won't tell him. She isn't at Belle Reve; Katana scouted for him without him even asking. She's being held somewhere else; somewhere far from him.

He himself stays in a hotel room—an abysmal, one person room—and is more in the dark than ever in regards to missions and Waller's plans. She owes him nothing—no explanations, no details or agendas; he's just told where to shoot and when.

Outside, two guard personnel are posted. Waller is fairly certain Rick isn't a meta himself—he exhibits no powers. Sharing a heart with the witch doesn't seem to have given him any abilities. Still, he's guarded—watched—on the off chance that Enchantress somehow gets to him and extracts back her heart. Rick hasn't had a bomb implanted in his neck; no, there isn't a fail safe on his heart—yet.

He's grateful when his phone goes off—a mission. It's something to distract him. Something for him to do.

And a _chance_ to see June.

* * *

Harley looks strange, to say the least, dressed in combat clothes. Actual pants and boots without heels. A Kevlar vest hides her voluptuous chest and she's rather shapeless under the frumpy army gear.

Captain Boomerang looks like the least convincing civilian—he, too, has a uniform that implies he's on the other side of the law than his usual tread, but he's allowed his coat—and all its pockets and harnesses for boomerangs—but he looks just as uncomfortable and out of place as Harley.

Deadshot at least is given his magnums and mask.

Flag looks between them all with heavy regret and pity. They were free—now, they're practically choking on their leash.

Harley glares daggers at Floyd, purposely rubbing at her neck for emphasis even though the sting of pain has long since faded. Croc growls more and talks less, standing among the guards and daring them to prod him.

Diablo stands at the end of the line, looking the most defeated of them all (Deadshot gives him a run for his money, however). He's swallowed by the body armor and camo, and his eyes never look up from the floor.

 _They were free,_ _dammit_ , Flag thinks.

Deadshot's face says it all—he knows all too well this is his fault, but it isn't at the same time—this is just Waller's game. It's all of her design, and she check-mated them. All of them.

Speak of the devil; Waller files in after the criminals have assembled. Flag stands opposite of them with guards lined up behind him—some are for the squad, some are for Flag himself. They remind him of GQ and he clenches his fists, staring at Waller without breaking eye contact. She stares directly back, challenging him to do something about it.

"You all look rested."

Boomerang before would've spat at her feet, but the routine felt over done now— _now_ , he just didn't give a damn.

"The Bialya Embassy is housing a spy—multiply outlets are reporting as much. Someone from within the top branch found out something they're not supposed to, and is seeking refuge in the embassy. The military has a mile of paperwork to even form a proper warrant and by then, the spy will be sipping on wine next to Queen Bee herself. Taskforce X will infiltrate the embassy, with no affiliation to the United States, acting as terrorists. Your mission is to incapacitate the spy."

"Assassinate."

Flag glares at Waller.

She doesn't even blink when he talks.

"We need this to look like a random act perpetrated by the villains that you are, so…for this mission, your original gear will be returned to you."

Harley smiles brightly for a brief second, already stripping out of the heavy gear, but Waller shoots her a look that makes her hesitate.

"You're deploying immediately. This is a time-sensitive mission."

Harley darts her eyes from Waller to Deadshot—she won't risk picking a fight with Amanda, but Floyd is open range.

"Do you even still count as a 'criminal' or are your stripes and stars still in the mail?"

Lawton doesn't look at her.

"What? Waller's new pup can't speak? She cut off your tongue, too, or just your balls?"

"Harley-" Diablo tries to cut in.

"Don't 'Harley' me! You ain't my friend. Nones' ya are." Harley pouts. "We're criminals. It's every man for himself."

" _June_?"

Everyone quiets, and even Harley looks apologetic. Flag has his eyes trained to Waller, but she ignores him.

"Where's June?!"

Waller just turns and makes her way from the room. Taskforce X is left standing, unanswered, awaiting deployment.

* * *

They fly the few hours in silence, strapped in to the back of a carrier like the old days. Everyone sits with a seat between them-not because they were commanded to, but because no one wants to be near the other.

Harley giggles to herself, making up curses and nasty nicknames with the voices. She popped her bubblegum loudly, smacking it until Croc finally snarls at her and its the real response she has wanted and she cackles at finally getting to someone.

Digger is so tired of her crazy shtick that he manages to ignore her for the most part. He tries to nap but flinches every time that bubble pops.

Lawton clutches the last letter he received from his daughter. Flag thinks he's seen it before and heart-wrenchingly concludes that the letter must have been from before their re-capture; Waller must have revoked that privilege from Lawton.

Flag clenches his fists harder. He feels like punching something for Lawton, and at the rate Harley is going, she seems the most likely candidate.

The pilot speaks through the comms and Flag breathes a deep sigh; they've arrived. They'll land and then take a van til they're half a mile out from the compound. It's a brisk jaunt from their drop off point to the compound, and they had their time to memorize the compound. Still, this is to look as much a raid as it is a break-in; the more deliberate, the better.

A reason Digger is in such a good mood is that the looting ban was lifted for this mission.

As the squad head for the van to pile in, Flag pulls the only fellow sanctioned Seal attending the mission aside.

"Ditch the military gear. If any of us get caught, we can't be risk the US government being traced. Just your civvies and your gun."

The van is a tight squeeze and no one is pleased. Croc crams in the corner. For her own safety, Harley is set in the passenger seat, thought Flag warns her to keep her hands, feet, and otherwise anything else off the wheel or the driver. She promises as much, but winks at the same time and Flag doesn't blame Chato when he immediately breaks into a prayer for their souls.

Katana sits across from Digger, keeping him in check with just a look. Beside him is Lawton, while Flag sits behind Harley and beside Katana. It's a miserable game of chicken as everyone waits for the other to make a move, with their hands on their weapons and bombs in their necks.

The trust that they had built is gone.

* * *

When the driver stops behind a warehouse and signals they're declared clear by air coverage, Flag is relieved to pull back the van doors and hustle everyone out and to cover. It's a quiet, dark night, but the Taskforce is looking to light it up.

Flag leads, throwing back symbols to move, be quiet, and stand-by. Harley, in a not-being-quiet voice, simply deadpans,

"We don't know your soldier signs."

Flag hisses at her, to which she jumps slightly before following his finger point. When the compound is in sight, Flag tries to huddle the group.

"Chato and Boomerang-go round the back and come in through there. Croc, you've got the east entrance. Rest of us will take the front-"

"Ya heard Waller, Flag. This ain't one of your soldier missions of stealth'n shit. This is chaos and criminal. So, let us do the crimilaling, _yes_?"

Harley nods at Chato, who steps forward and releases a spray of flames. None reach the door, but almost instantly alarms are set. Harley, Croc and Digger all step from their cover. Digger sets to taking out the immediate cameras. Croc rips at the iron gate, while Harley simply makes noises to add a beat to the now blaring alarms.

Flag tries to look back at Deadshot, but the assassin is already scaling the roof of the adjacent building and throwing himself down to provide sniper cover. Guards are running towards the gate that Croc is damaging and denting. The Seal shakes his head, disapproving of the squad. Not for what they're doing, but for enjoying it.

Flag ignores it and moves forward.

* * *

June blinks to straighten her vision. She's been weened off the drugs and is just startling to feel the tingling of feeling in her limbs.

She can't properly lift her head, but her eyes do focus on the shoes of Waller.

"Good to see you're coming back to us." and to a figure out of June's view, Waller mutters some order. There's a rush on pain through June's arm as something is injected into her-adrenaline-and now her muscles are on fire.

"You weren't coming back quick enough."

June feels tears in her eyes but her mind doesn't understand why she's crying. She's felt worse pain by now.

"You're weaker than last time. Still powerful enough, Lord knows..."

Waller is circling June like a shark to prey. She comes to a halt.

"I have a mission for you."

June imagines herself spitting at Waller's feet, but her mouth is numb and dry and so no such action is taken.

But a mission means getting out of here-and that could just lead her to Rick.

* * *

The grounds explode thanks to some grenade-like boomerangs, courtesy of the only member on the team that carries such. Croc makes light of every obstacle they come across, easily breaking through the doors despite lock down. Flag hears the shouting inside of the security calling orders and hastily trying to barricade themselves.

Flag _hates_ this.

Attacking his own country. This whole embassy is staffed by Americans, primarily. Sovereign soil, sure, but nonetheless American.

Harley and the others do not share Flag's hesitation. A flash grenade shaped much like the horror that would jump out of a Jack-in-the-box is tossed from her manicured hands through the entrance. Several men shout. More scream when the thing actually detonates.

Flag wants to yell at her to kill only their objective-the rest aren't the mission. But, he knows how suspicious it'll look if the entire embassy isn't targeted. _They're staging a crime_ , he reminds himself.

And a crime is the criminal's strong point. Harley swings her bat at every vase and glass cabinet, gleefully pleased when multiply shatters occur with one swing as if she's mastering skipping stones over a lake.

An unfortunate guard tries to ambush physically the team, but picks Croc as his target. Flag turns away, actually horrified, when Killer Croc lives up to his namesake, tearing at the man's throat. The other Seal seems unfazed. He's known the whole time these people were animals.

Flag just got too used to seeing their humanity.

* * *

Lawton has secured the outside and enters after them. Harley almost shoots him before he throws up a hand of warning.

Boomerang is pocketing anything light and expensive. Chato has wandered off-he won't join the killings, but he sets fires to a few of the trees in the backyard. He's staging chaos, but controlling it.

Flag catches the attention of Lawton, careful not to make any signal that gives away the sophistication of their raid. Lawton catches it and nods to his left. He'll try that end of the house.

Flag heads in the opposite direction, drowning out the noise the others are making as they hoot and holler at their play of freedom.

As expected, the Seal follows Flag's every step. He nearly shoots Harley, however, when she jumps between the two of them, throwing her arms around Flag's shoulders and jumping on his back.

"Ain't this cheerin' ya up any? After this let's rob the rest of the block! We might even find something for you, honey," she shouts back at the Seal.

Flag feels every nerve of his electrifying with annoyance and attempts to throw Harley from his back. But, she leans forward, close to his ear, and whispers a stern warning only for him to hear,

" _June, Flag-_ "

She jumps off herself, flirtatiously leaning against the wall and winking at the Seal, but Flag focuses on rather what Harley said.

She brought up June. She wants him to think about June? As if he already isn't doing that-

Then Flag catches her eye-still taunting the Seal.

 _The Seal._

The Seal wouldn't be here if June is drugged up far away from him. As the witch's heart, he's only in danger if the witch were loose.

As the gears fall into place and it comes together, Flag's face lights up. The Seal isn't a part of the same mission as the others; it's why he's tailing Flag. He's Flag's fail safe.

Harley looks relieved and sighs uncharacteristically, annoyed mostly that it took Flag so long to figure out.

"I _do_ have a Doctorate degree; does no one seem to remember that?"

And then she proceeds to swing her bat crashing into the Seal's skull.

" _Harley_?!"

"He's still alive!" She shrugs, "I'm sure..."

"What-?"

" _Flag_. He was here to shoot you should _she_ come after you. Which _means_ she's out. Waller sent us in to make this look like some robbery, but we're the _suicide squad_ , remember? This mission is _too_ important to risk it not being carried out. We draw out all the fire, all the attention and blame-but the spy? The spy _has_ to be taken care of."

And Rick recognizes what Harley is saying.

"She's _here_."

Harley nods like it's obvious, which apparently for her it had been since they arrived.

"Quit standing here and go see your girl!"

Rick hesitates, staring at Harley, "Why are you telling me all this..?"

Harley shrugs, still playing it nonchalant.

"I said what I meant. We ain't friends-any of us. But I've got a soft spot for love. Figured Waller wasn't lettin' you see Juney, so if you had the chance to now, you should get it."

Flag smiles gratefully at Harley.

"Hurry up!" She chastises him. "We'll keep the robbin' and raidin' on out here!"

* * *

Flag approaches each room more carelessly than he'd normally like to. But, June is here-he's positive of it now-and he has to see her.

 _Damn Waller._

Damn her for keeping it from him that June would be here. Damn her for sending an escort to keep Rick from June, or shoot him should he get close to her. And damn this mission and every mission since they'd been caught that has torn the team apart and kept him from June.

He reaches a bedroom-a suite, but whether it's a guests' or the master he can't tell. The door is afar and everything looks spot on save for one decorative vase knocked from the table by the bathroom door.

Rick raises his handheld. Someone rushed into the bathroom, carelessly. Flag approaches slowly.

He memorized the spy's file and face. If it's him, he'll do what's necessary.

What if June is there?

That is what he's hoping, isn't it? To see June? But it dawns on him that even if she's here, it's not really her. It's Enchantress. And she'll be using June's body to commit a murder-a murder on the order of Waller.

He'd promised her that he'd protect her. Protect her from ever harming again, or doing Waller's bidding.

His blood is boiling, but his veins feel frozen. He can't decided what would be worse-seeing June or not.

He gets his answer as his foot kicks the door open wider.

"June?!"

* * *

Flag's heart drops. Standing before him is Enchantress.

She looks thin, frail, and faded. The tarnished, dirty metallic jewelry surrounding her is somehow worse for wear. Her skin is physically peeling and flaking off—she looks like a corpse, deteriorating and pale. Her eyes are no longer embers—they're dark with a faded light in the center that seems to fall halfway across the room. Still, she smirks triumphantly at Rick—maybe it's bitter, or gloating, but she has enough strength to mockingly scoff at him. The voice that follows is so hoarse and quiet and foreign, Rick doesn't know whether to pity her or hate her.

"You want to see her. You _can't._ "

"How is she?!"

Enchantress is staring a Flag's chest—aware of something he is not. She's looking beyond his shirt and skin—his ribs and bones. She sees into his chest cavity, the heart itself; it beats, and it is hers.

"She'll die if I release from this form." Enchantress does not sugar coat their predicament.

The image is made that much more horrifying when Flag lets his eyes follow Enchantress' arms, stained with blood, that drips and trails to the bathtub. A corpse, fresh and painted in his own blood, lays with wide eyes of terror. It's the spy.

Flag feels rage build in his throat.

" _Fight her_ , June!"

" _I_ am no longer the _enemy_." Enchantress hisses. "She would _die_ without me."

"She wouldn't be _here_ without you!" Flag snaps.

"But who brought me back? Stop fighting me, human! I am your _ally_ —you are my heart."

"I _have_ your heart…there's a difference."

Enchantress smirks. "And I have yours. Do not forget this."

Flag is fuming, but there are tears in the back of his eyes. Enchantress sees this, yet surprisingly doesn't taunt him for it. She instead looks to the spy-disdainfully, but acknowledging.

"This was the man Waller demanded die. Should your team have failed, she'd have had your heads for it. All of them," Enchantress emphasizes. "June is not well. She's weak and what Waller has done- _does_ -to us would _kill_ her without _my_ magic. Without me, _you_ would have died. And the gratitude I receive for keeping the both of you alive?" The witch snorts, but the laugh is bitter.

"Where is she keeping you?"

Enchantress opens her mouth to speak, but shuts it quickly, freezing. Her eyes grow wide with fear and Flag goes to turn but feels the chill of a gun nozzle pressing through his shirt.

" _Don't_. Say a word and I'll blow his heart out. _Your_ heart out."

Enchantress snarls, eyeing her surroundings. The Seal blocks the doorway, his gun to Flag's back. She could teleport, but would she risk being faster than a bullet? Flag stares at her, pleading her to not give in.

"Return to your cage, witch." the Seal demands. Flag slowly raises his hands in surrender, but his eyes plead with Enchantress to resist.

"Enchantress, don't. Don't go-let me see June. _Please_."

Enchantress' eyes flicker between the men, debating whose orders to follow. She goes to speak, hesitates, before finally wincing.

And in a flicker and a flash, she's gone.

Flag has lost his chance to see June.

* * *

Enchantress gasps and cackles, falling to the floor at her exertion. Left with just enough energy to get there and back, she can hardly fight off the guards that swarm her. Her figure fades and it's June's body, deranged and still half-possessed by Enchantress still, that the staff wrestle with. The restraints are put on quickly and hurriedly, and she can smell the fear off of her captors. Waller stands before her.

They heard everything. She's sure of it. The Seal was bugged, or Flag-they know how close the witch came to her heart. She spits and laughs in the faces of the men trying to restrain her. Because she's irritated Amanda Waller.

 _It's the small victories._

She's pushed against the cot and strapped in, still smiling through a twitching tongue and glaring at Waller, challenging her to punish the witch for her moment of disobedience.

"He'll kill you," she spits. As much as it would please Enchantress to take the life from the bitch herself, something poetic about the dog biting the hand of its master is satisfying enough.

"He follows my orders, because I control you. And you would do to not forget you're just the same as him—as long as I control you both, I'll live a long and happy life."

"Where was the lie?" Enchantress snaps, her smile fading. "This body will die soon—you rely too much on my magic to keep the two of us alive. June will die—and then nothing will keep the dog at bay."

Waller doesn't respond, and Enchantress takes a small victory in this—Waller doesn't realize how close she's coming to killing June, and she misjudges Enchantress' rage and hatred for Waller; she thinks Enchantress is determined to personally be Waller's downfall. But, Enchantress would sooner rather die and let herself and June be unbound to this world to unleash Flag upon Waller than cling for hundreds of years waiting for her split moment to extract revenge.

In a rare moment of humanity, Enchantress feels pity for June. The girl was looking so forward to being spared- _saved_ -by her knight.

 _She'll die soon enough,_ Enchantress tells them both.

She always was a fan of a girl freeing herself with no need of knights.

* * *

Flag turns slowly, keeping his hands raised, to face the Seal. The Seal keeps his gun trained on Flag, reaching for his comm with the other hand.

"Is the witch returned?"

Waller's distinct voice crackles back at him to confirm.

Flag watches the man lower his wrist-the comm-before smiling.

"You into that witch-bitch, is that it? That why you're smiling when I could pull this trigger any second?"

"You won't do a _damn_ thing without Waller's say." Rick spits back. "And I'm smiling because this asshole is making me wait."

"-Wait?"

The Seal doesn't hear the gunshot, nor feel it, as it tears through his chest.

Behind him, as he drops, stands Lawton, looking irritated.

"This _asshole_ was letting you buy time so this dummy could use the channel between him and Waller so that we could later track that said signal. So this _asshole_ would prefer a ' _thank you_ '."

"Thanks," Flag smirks. "The others?"

"Compound is clear, but back-up has to be on its way." Floyd looks behind Flag at the body. "I'm guessing your lady was here, then?"

Flag nods, grabbing the fallen Seal's gun and ammo. He checks the dog tag- _Alberts_.

He was just a pawn to Waller. Following his orders; just as Flag had done before him.

"Yep..."

"Well, when we go after her, I'll thank her. I didn't feel comfortable abandoning my last mission without completing it-I've never missed a target."

* * *

The Taskforce is gathered in the kitchen. It's in shambles, and they're surrounded by smashed glass and bullet-hole-ridden furniture, but they look so much at home compared to when they all sat strapped into a cargo plane.

Croc's chin is stained with blood. Chato is curiously looking around the home, whether good or bad memories are stirring from the sight of being in a house...

Digger jumps to his feet when Lawton and Flag enter.

"Can someone tell me wha' the bloody hell is going on? Crazy Sheila over here just storms in sayin' we're bustin' outta here and then keeps her mouth shut like I'm s'posed to guess the rest?!"

Harley rolls her eyes.

"We're doing this? Now?" Flag looks between the squad. This is it; they're breaking free.

" _We,_ yes." Harley, too, stands up and holds her pistol up. "But not you."

Everyone's shocked, but least of all is Lawton himself despite being at the eend of the barrel.

"You betrayed us." Harley spits. There's an anger in her eyes that has been slow burning for weeks now.

"Harley, stop. We don't have time for this."

"He's Waller's lapdog, Flag. He'll call us in the _moment_ we step off this compound! I ain't risking it-"

"-They have his daughter, Harley!"

Harley hesitates at that. Everyone looks to Lawton, who hasn't bothered defending himself.

Harley's lips purse and she stubbornly asks in a shaking voice, "Is that so?"

Lawton sniffs, not looking her in the eyes. "Ya...Ya, Waller has Zoe."

There's a moment of complete silence where no one flinches or moves.

Finally, Harley holsters her pistol.

"You're lucky I'm bipolar."

* * *

"So, there's still the issue of our necks, mates, ya?" Digger interrupts.

Flag is checking the perimeter, looking out for any approaching back-up. They should be here any minute-the team needs to get out of here. But, Digger isn't exactly wrong. Flag doesn't exactly have this escape planned. Hell, aside from Digger, Flag feels like he was the last person to even know this was their jailbreak.

"That...is something I have a solution to."

Everyone turns towards the source of the voice-Katana.

She holds a device similar to Flag's, but larger. Each member of the squad's face is there, lined up just as on Flag's module. However, the usual blue outline that represents the nanomites' active state is green; a representation of it's disactivation.

"How did you..?"

Katana smiles, a rare sight, but explains to the group, "I searched for June-I couldn't find her. But, the search did lead me to several facilities-including the manufacturers of the nanomites. I...persuaded the engineers to deactivate them."

Flag could kiss Katana. Harley nearly attempts to, but Katana's smile drops and quickly the group realize a silent nod of 'thanks' will suffice.

"I suggest we continue this conversation somewhere else. We're about to be joined by half an army."

Everyone nods at Lawton's suggestion, but Croc asks what everyone is thinking.

"Where are we headed to?"

"We snatched that Seal's comm-we can track its signal to find June."

Flag shakes his head at Lawton's suggestion.

"No. We're going after Zoe."

Lawton freezes in his steps.

"Flag...Waller is going to catch onto that we escaped. We have a...very small window to save June before Waller recognizes what we're doing and has her moved."

"We go after June, Waller is just going to continue using Zoe to reel us back in. Without Zoe, she has nothing on you, and the rest of you can be free of Waller."

Lawton grabs Flag's arm, talking in a lower tone now,

"I heard you and the witch, Flag. June doesn't have much time left. She said they were dying-"

"-we're going after Zoe." Flag finishes, pulling his arm free from Lawton's grip.

"You ladies picked a honeymoon destination yet?" Digger cuts in.

"I suggest we move!" Harley yells just as a spotlight of a militant tank breaks over the horizon. No further arguing takes place as the squad all scramble from the kitchen's entrance into the back yard of the compound. They scale the wall quickly with relative ease just as several cars crash through the compound's already busted gate.

* * *

When the group is far enough from the embassy mansion and out of breadth, Harley picks a locked boutique and ushers them inside. They hide in the darkness as the streets are patrolled by the militia. There's a water fountain in the back of the store which Digger practically camps beside. The other sit behind counters and racks of clothes, though Harley takes this time to admire the handmade dresses.

"Hey," Flag warns.

Harley shrugs. "It'll look more authentic if we robbers hit more than one place~ Maybe Waller will even thank us for the extra effort!"

Croc snorts.

"I'm serious Flag," Deadshot interjects, returning to the debate at hand. "Even if we get Zoe back? Where is she going to be safe? Where will she be out of the reach of Waller? Where would we take her to?"

Flag bites at his lip. It's a valid concern. If they save Zoe, she'll need to stay somewhere while they rescue June.

"You could take her out of the country-"

"-No. No, if you're gonna stand by me to help me get my daughter back? I'm coming with you to save your lady."

Rick nods slowly; appreciative.

"I don't know if the floor is open to suggestions," Harley adds, sticking her head between the two. "I might know of a place..."

* * *

"June—can you check the water?"

June smiles, nodding an ' _of course_ '. It's almost boiling. They're making pasta, and while Rick deals with the meat and sauce, June is taking over duty for the noodles. She can visibly see the steam, but no bubbles yet.

The water is hot—she can see that much. Yet, casually, she reaches out and submerges her hand in it. It's barely an afterthought—she's merely checking to see if the water is boiling.

 _"Stop!"_

A voice screams all around her and from within her own head, and suddenly everything shatters. June finds herself jolting backwards as the water explodes, glass shatters, and Rick, like a rag doll, is tossed aside. And the whole kitchen is torn apart and reality shifts and June wakes in her cell, screaming and panting. The IV is pumping in liquid that burns like molten glass.

Enchantress is hissing in her mind.

 _"Go back! Go back!"_

June can't focus on a single thought—her mind is in so much pain and is being overwhelmed by her screaming. Then she feels herself being pulled back into the dream, and at the table, set and with a pasta meal already plated before her, Rick is sitting; smiling.

"h-what's going on?!"

"Reality is too painful. You'll die of shock if you go back. You can't handle the pain or the procedure—I'm forcefully in control of our body. I can't do anything, but if we want to keep you alive, I need to be in control."

June stares with an gaped mouth at Rick, because she knows it's not him.

"E-Enchantress…?"

" _Stop questioning this reality!_ " Rick snaps, but his voice is mingling with the ancient one of Enchantress. " _The more you question it, challenge it, the harder it is for you to believe it! Accept it, and don't pull yourself back awake—you need to stay here. And you need to believe this is real._ "

Nothing makes sense to June but she finds herself smiling and passing Rick the salad, content to merely be having dinner with him.

"Yes, Darling."

* * *

Enchantress is breathing hard, rapid breaths. She _has_ to keep June alive-the both of them. The shock and pain, should June's conscious surface again, will kill them. She's enchanting her host in a trance-trapped within her own mind-to spare her, but she can't keep this up forever.

Enchantress knows it's futile, but she still holds out slight _hope_ -a pitiful thought that she never imagined she'd become desperate enough for-that _maybe_ Rick and June's love will be strong enough-that _maybe_ Rick really loves June enough and will save them.

Because if he doesn't hurry, they are going to die.

* * *

 _Breathe through me_

 _Fill up your lungs with us_

 _I will keep everything_

 _You give me_

 _Til the time_

 _We let go_

* * *

 **A/N:** Again, I'm so sorry this chapter took so long to come out! It was a hard chapter to write, and I just faced so many writer's blocks and then life and school weren't helping :/ But I'm back and I'm hoping this next chapter will not be NEARLY as long a wait!

About this chapter: Originally, I was going to show multiply missions and the teases of Enchantress being apart of them but still emphasize how Rick and June are being kept apart. There also was the original outline of Lawton and Flag staging a fight and then turning on the guards surrounding them to break the Squad free. However, when I got to typing, everything made more sense to take place on this single mission.

Bialya is a nod to DC comics, as some of you may know-I'm probably wrong in putting an embassy of the fictional country in America as I'm pretty sure that Bialya doesn't interact with other countries? But my best friend is suspension of disbelief so~

There's a few cop-outs in this chapter that I'm sorry about-my creativity was just failing me, so Waller points out that Enchantress is 'far weaker' than before-this is my way of explaining what Enchantress can and can't do, because in the film she honestly felt OP and it's difficult to not just have Enchantress snap her fingers and escape, so...My interpretation is that June is the one being drugged, to keep Enchantress from possessing her, but all these drugs are making her mind weak so Enchantress is kind of taking control of their mind and as I tried to have her explain at the end, there's just a lot of pain going on and drugs through June's body-Waller is over-compensating in keeping Enchantress captive and not risking what happened in the film-and so Enchantress is kinda creating this illusion for June so that she doesn't go into shock and die...

Another cop-out I took was having Katana have the solution to the bombs-I originally had it planned that Flag would cut the bombs out, but I still don't feel like that method actually works and I already pushed it when I had Digger do it.

So that's about it for this chapter! I owe it to you all to at least tease the next one-there will be a lot more Enchantress (And her and June will actually be doing something other than being tortured) as well as the introduction of a character close to Harley that I have avoided writing so far...

Again, I'm sorry for the delay in this chapter and I'm going to try SO HARD to get the next chapter out sooner! Thank you to everyone who has read this far and to those who emailed and encouraged me-I owe ya'll so much :3


	10. Recover

Good God I'm so sorry for how long it's been! School is not kind, especially a Master's program, to fanfic writers -_- What's worse is I have a summer course this summer so I won't make promises the next chapter will be uploaded anytime during that intense time, BUT know I am ALWAYS writing and working and thinking of this story and have no plans to abandon it! I'm just taking a lil' longer to finish it than I'd planned is all :/

Disclaimer: I own neither the characters nor the songs that inspired the titles, and there is some language in this chapter-I "F"-bomb that I can distinctly remember...also, potentially gruesome imagery towards the end..? I'm not sure, I might be over-hyping that one, but just in case...

It's been so long since I posted, and this chapter is short, and leaves a lot of things open which will only kill me more the fact that the next chapter may be out in a week or in three months, BUT I still hope those of you who follow this story or are finding it for the first time enjoy this chapter~!

* * *

 _And if I recover, will you be my comfort?_  
 _Or it can be over, or we can just leave it here_

* * *

Zoe is doodling to the side of the space allotted for showing her work on the equation. It's difficult to concentrate she finds. She glances over her shoulder.

The armed guard is still standing there-not that she expected him to just disappear.

She returns to her homework. She doesn't buy for a second that these men are here to 'protect her' from her 'loose and dangerous' dad. Whatever they said (or paid) her mother to let her be accompanied by these men, she doesn't frankly want to know. Her mother is constantly asleep, opiated to the point where Zoe hasn't heard a coherent sentence from her mother's mouth in at least a week. Her new boyfriend is just the same-coked up and half awake.

And that's the state they're in next door, in the apartment's one bedroom. Zoe sits currently in hers-the living room couch that unfolds into a cot. It's the bare minimum for child support and if these men here were really here for her 'protection' they might take a few precautions to better her conditions. But they don't care about Zoe. They care about her dad.

She hopes they don't catch him.

There's a flash of light that catches Zoe's eye and she glances at it. It's a brief reflection-and then it's gone.

She turns to look back at the guard. He didn't notice it. She pretends to return to her homework, but keeps an eye out for the light.

And then it's there again.

She knows what's happening.

Zoe takes a deep, slow breadth. Slowly, she extends her hand across the coffee table, swiping at her pencil until it rolls off the table.

It's a quiet clank, but Zoe jumps, pretending to be startled as if the pencil fell without her aid, and the guard sees but thinks nothing of it. Zoe bends to pick it up, closing her eyes and exhaling.

The window doesn't shatter, but there's an audible crack as a bullet whizzes through it and the guard drops.

* * *

Enchantress can barely keep one eye open. She's being drained on two fronts.

One, the chemicals pumping into her, subduing her, which seem to burn through her veins. The dosages keep going up and she feels relief—actual goddamn relief—that she was able to, in time, trap June in her warped dream.

That's the second front. While Enchantress concentrates on staying alive, on fighting these drugs, she's also maintaining a peaceful memory and reality—a cage—to keep June's mind in. If June goes mad, the shock could kill them both. This amount of chemicals, or torture, can't be withstood by a human; especially one as frail as June already is.

A doctor (He's no doctor. June is a "doctor", Enchantress has come to learn. This man is just a monster; an ant meant to be squashed by her foot) enters the room and looks warily at Enchantress. Despite her restraints and the assurances by Waller herself that nothing short of a nuclear bomb could free Enchantress from her bindings, the doctor had his doubts. It all seemed too flimsy—the straps, the tubes, the chemicals. He'd seen Enchantress before—a marvel of magic. Could science really capture magic?

As a man of science, he had to believe in such.

"You're getting a new chemical compound today…" He hesitated, wondering why he alerted her at all. The monster was unresponsive and primitive, in appearance at least—she likely didn't know what was happening, or about the periodic table of elements or anything. He supposed he was merely making sounds to calm himself. He'd much rather hear his own voice than any spell from the witch's mouth.

Enchantress didn't lift an eyelash to the coated man or his announcement—this further cemented to him that she didn't understand but, in reality, she did. She just didn't care. There was something far more pressing than this creature's new recipe of fire for her veins.

And that was keeping June alive.

* * *

Zoe keeps her head down and her eyes closed, refusing to look up (at the body) until she hears the thunderous footsteps and the door slam open. It took just under a minute, but someone is there, at her side, calming her down despite her not crying.

"C'mon, lil' Zo….yer papa is outside; he's on his way. He'll meet us, c'mon-"

The man has a strange accent and Zoe opens her eyes. Sure enough he's a match, features and voice, because Zoe swears she's seen cleaner hobos than this man and his scraggly beard. She wonders if he can be trusted.

A woman shoves him aside, scowling at the funny-sounding man with the (Australian? Zoe thinks of the movies) accent. This lady has too much make-up on; it's smearing down her face. She's pale and blonde and her smile is wicked and uninviting.

"Yer scaring her! C'mon, Zoe, we're friends of your dad's! He's on his way from across the street but we're going to head down and meet him in the lobby, yeah?!"

Zoe believes these people really are friends of her dad's. They aren't working for the government, and anyone against the law is with her dad.

Zoe nods, and the lady (Zoe doubts her mom would call this woman a 'lady', but she's currently passed out in the bedroom; she didn't even wake up to the thudding of the guard) leads Zoe outside.

Immediately outside the door, as quick as he can as it comes as an afterthought, the Australian man throws a hand to Zoe's eyes. She would've jumped at this sudden movement but this, coupled with his hiss of a curse word, and coupled with the fact he was a moment too slow—Zoe saw the bodies—and she realizes what's happening. The guards outside the door are prone on the floor, just like the one her father took care of.

The man ushers Zoe quickly past them, a string of curses flowing from under his breath as he tries to maneuver her past the bodies. The woman cocks her head, standing in front of them, before it dawns on her that, _yeah,_ a child might _not_ be adjusted to seeing dead bodies.

Maybe she expects Zoe to just be a smaller version of her father. None of them speak as they take the stairwell down to the first floor.

* * *

Any doubts Zoe had of these people being with her dad vanish when she sees him, first hand, in the lobby, running from outside. Zoe knows it takes a while to take down a sniper set-up.

" _Zoe_!"

Her dad crosses the lobby and suddenly she's hugging him. And she forgets about the bodies upstairs, or her mom in the bedroom, or the Australian man and the clown-lady beside her. She doesn't even notice the man with scaly skin growling down the lobby secretary, keeping him quiet and from calling in or reporting. She doesn't notice the lady in the mask or the man in a uniform, or even the man with all the tattoos.

Not until her father lets her go does Zoe become aware of the rest of the world, and it's the strangest sight she's ever seen. She even laughs a little.

"Daddy, are these your friends?"

"-Co-workers."

"- _Best_ friends!"

Floyd and Harley answer at the same time.

"Let's go. Waller will be alerted any minute to the…" The uniformed man looks at Zoe, "change in guard status…"

"Did you have to kill them, Dad?"

Deadshot looks the most nervous Flag has ever seen him as he tries to gently explain, tip-toeing around, that it was, indeed, necessary.

"But these were _not_ good men, Zoe! They kidnapped you and were holding you hostage." Her dad gives a look to the uniformed man. Zoe recognizes him—he's been around her and her dad before.

"They've kidnapped another woman, too. And we have to save her. Like we saved you."

"You're leaving me?"

Lawton's throat knots up.

"No, _no_! No, sweetie. I'm not leaving you. Ever again…But, I have to save this woman, because…see, she helped save me, and in turn that's how I saved you. So…so, I'm not leaving you, but I'm…stepping out, again….for just a short time."

"We're gonna take you somewhere safe though, first," the clown-lady jumps in, smiling assuredly. Floyd and Zoe both don't feel assured. Something ingenuine about the lady's promise sticks out to Zoe.

"How far from here is it, Harley?" The uniformed man asks. Zoe suddenly feels like she's taking a step back, watching these adults talk and plan all above her head. Her father never takes his hands off her shoulder, though, so she's fine to go along with whatever happens. As long as it means her and her daddy can be together from now on.

* * *

Harley leads them through the back exit of the apartment, into the alley, and takes a quick look at the street to get an idea of which cross section they're at.

"Alright. We're not too far out. Your ex has good tastes in property, being on _this_ side of town," Harley winks at Lawton. He knows it's an insult and says nothing, pushing Zoe closer against him. His magnums rest on his gauntlets, under another stolen sweater, but Zoe doesn't stare. She tries not to look at the scary scaly man, or the clown-lady. She instead watches the funny man with the accent, or the soldier who she's seen before, or even the lady who wears a mask.

They're the strangest, most inconspicuous group, walking alleys and sidewalks to their destination. They don't speak much and avoid street cameras and cars. Zoe wishes they would talk more; she's nervous and silence doesn't help. That's why she likes the Australian man—he never stops talking.

"So what's this place? A bunker of yours? A haunted house..? Strip club?"

Katanna glares at him at the same time as Lawton.

"Right, not in front of the Cheerio, gotcha."

Zoe giggles.

Katanna keeps eyeing the pad in her hand; waiting nervously for the green to change to red any moment.

Digger is endlessly muttering to himself, to Harley, to whoever will listen. He's doing a considerable job of toning back his cursing, but obviously something slips out now and then. Lawton, uncomfortably, risks leaving Zoe by Katanna (the only person he trusts with his daughter out of the given options) to approach Harley.

"Where are we headed?"

She doesn't respond immediately.

" _Harley_."

"I have a safe house nearby…Hardly a city or block I don't have someplace stashed away, ya know? For when me and the Mister need space, or I have to cool off from a gig…That sorta thing…"

Lawton angrily looks back at Zoe, checking himself to make sure she doesn't note his rising anger.

"You're taking my little girl to one of the _Joker_ 's hall of mirrors?!"

"Relax. He won't be around. I…I don't know exactly where he is."

"Okay, you wanna stop dodging what happened between you two? You said ya'll were 'taking a break' or some…thing," Deadshot mutters, "when you busted us out. So, be real. What's going on?"

Harley shrugs, inhaling sharply, but throws a smile on and turns to face the rest of the group.

"We're here! You're gonna love it, _lil Zo_! There's a carousel and cotton candy machine~! This is, I think, the best bunker me and… _that_ I own!" She exclaims, clapping her hands before checking the clear.

They cross to a garage door, a back entrance, to what upfront looks like a storage unit. Graffiti dresses the door with gang tags, and there's a chain with a lock that Lawton doubts Harley has the key on her person for. But, she surprises him by instead approaching the side brick wall. There's a single brick with a spade etched into it in white that she pushes at. And just like that, the wall snaps back and with a hefty shove, the doorway is revealed.

Harley smiles proudly, stepping into the dark while exclaiming behind her, to the following band, "Welcome home!"

The lights flicker on, and standing ten paces before them is the King of Crime himself.

"Took the words right out of my mouth, _baby_."

* * *

June watches Rick nod his head, slowly down only to snap back up. His eyes have been closed for the past five minutes. He's fighting the exhaustion but the struggle ends when he finally allows his chin to touch his chest. A breadth later and he's snoring lightly.

Remote still in hand, Rick is illuminated by the blue light from the television. June could watch Rick falling asleep for hours, but decides it's best to arrange him so he's more comfortable. She slinks over to his side, starting with the remote. Gently pulling it from his loose grip, she sets it as carefully and quietly as she can down on the coffee table.

For a moment, it looks ancient and takes on the shape, the form, of a figure—like a large chess piece or statue. But it's her tired eyes playing tricks on her.

Then, she reaches around Rick's shoulders, supporting his head as she pulls him forward. She's cradling his head and turning him, shifting him, but in that moment where he's leaning in, facing her, she sees his desperate eyes open and a strange root in his hand, glowing green, before he crushes it.

Her heart.

Then he's asleep again, lulling forward into her arms and she is frozen. Wide-eyed and panicked, she remembers it all. Him crushing her heart—the mutual feeling of them killing one another. Then the brief memory of feeling the weight of the witch lifted only to have the witch burned back into her body by the cultists. June remembers the feeling of the drugs numbing her body, and she can hear Rick yelling at her, at Waller. She remembers the feeling, the actual feeling, of reality and she knows this isn't it.

This is a dream.

Rick isn't asleep in her arms.

He's somewhere, risking his life because of her.

Or worse—Waller has him caged just like June.

This brings June's mind to the present—the forefront. She's not really here, in this apartment, in front of this television.

She's in a cell, tranquilized and paralyzed. She's alive, but only barely, and it's because of Enchantress.

"Enchantress!" She yells. She doesn't care if this fake Rick wakes from her sudden jolting. He doesn't.

Instead, the scene shifts and she's in the darkness of her mind.

Without the construct of the apartment, she's exposed to pain. She drops to her knees in this space-less environment and clutches at her arms, her stomach, her body—it's all pulsating in waves of agony.

And before her, standing but looking no stronger, is Enchantress.

 _"I told you to not leave! Stay in the dream, or you will die!"_

"No," June spits out. Her teeth are clenched sharply together, biting back the pain, but she can't hide any longer.

 _"The shock alone will kill you. It will kill us both!"_

"No, I-it won't…"

June shakes her head, trembling, and reaches out her hand to crawl to Enchantress. The witch genuinely looks scared and steps back.

 _"Go back!"_

"F-fight…"

" _What_?!" Enchantress hisses.

"W-we fight…We get the _fuck_ out of here…"

Enchantress watches the girl crawl, convulsing, towards her. Her expression begins to fade of any emotion.

" _You think you can escape from this, little girl?_ "

"Not me…and n-not you…but together."

Enchantress scoffs briefly.

 _"You have no power-"_

"-I am _more_ than a vessel. Y-you _chose_ me. For a reason, _right_?"

Enchantress doesn't answer.

"I'm s-strong enough to house an i-immortal, powerful w-witch…wh-who can transport a-and summon and create…Y-you are a wrathful god…but, without me? You are _n-nothing_ …"

Enchantress raises her chin, weighing June's words.

"S-so…we do this together, or we d-die…I'm n-not going to stay in a dream forever… _Help me_ …l-let me help…"

Enchantress' upper lip goes stiff.

"Enchantress…I can help you…. _us_ …escape. _Let me_."

* * *

It's terrifying being in front of the Joker, Flag thinks (but he doesn't let his horror show). He's a glorified gangster with an eccentric style that Flag thinks he ought to be used to by now around Harley. But there's an air of madness around him that even Harley can't compete with. Harley still has heart and a conscience; she just chooses to ignore it.

The Joker is a skeleton in a purple suit who snarls as he smiles.

"I've missed you… _terribly_ ," The Joker snaps at Harley.

Lawton notices how she stiffens, but still she smiles.

"Puddin'!"

She runs at him. With open arms, she swings herself at him. The Joker doesn't react to her embrace, but that in itself seems to be his acceptance of it. The others slowly arrange themselves nearer to one another. Lawton hides Zoe completely behind him. Katanna has her hand on her sword hilt.

"You brought guests for dinner?"

"These are _my friends_. I've told you 'bout them," Harley coos. The Joker's eyes never leave the group. He's weighing them all.

When he sees Flag, what semblance of a smile he has disappears.

"He was one of them that put you away…"

"N-no, these are all my friends, Puddin'! They helped me out— _all_ of them!"

The Joker raises a brow to the others.

"Don't tell me you've developed Stockholm Syndrome for these…" He doesn't finish. "You're the Beauty, they…the Beasts. You've been away from me for so long—you left without a word."

"I-I left a note," Harley shrugs, her eyes bright and wide and searching the Joker's face for anything. He still looks beyond her.

"They captured you…tortured you… _Played_ with your mind."

"You wanna talk tricks?" Lawton calls out.

The Joker instantly reacts to this, stepping aside from Harley. She stumbles as he moves away, her eyes darting to the floor now as Joker steps towards the group. They merely tense up further in defense.

"Oh, _tricks_ I know…I know _all_ kinds of tricks! Party tricks…you name 'em! Like I know you…each and every one of you…The famed, deadly~ Deadshot!"

Lawton pushes Zoe back slightly from him. He keeps his eyes on Joker, but behind his back he makes a motion with his hand. Zoe can't understand it, but almost instantly she feels the brush of someone behind her.

"Can take out any man, with any weapon!"

His eyes shift to Croc.

"Killer Croc! K.C, The Big Guy! You're a hulking helluva guy… _are_ you though? A _man_ , I mean? How much of you _isn't_ a beast..?"

Croc snarls.

Zoe feels a hand slip around her arm, slowly. It's small—feminine. It's the woman with the mask, she realizes. She refuses to look behind her. She holds her breadth.

The Joker continues to step closer to the group.

"Captain Boomerang! Interesting choice of a toy…not that I'm one to talk! We all have our gimmicks, don't we?"

"Show me yours, I'll show you my 'gimmick', mate." Digger answers. There's no light in his voice as he speaks.

"And you…El Diablo! The demon himself…I thought you were dead?"

Diablo says nothing.

Joker shrugs, dramatically smiling. "I guess you can't kill the devil. At least, they say…"

Joker's eye catches sight of Zoe and he stops dead in his tracks.

"You're a little short. Don't feel offended though, I say the same thing to Cobblepot—really _riles_ him up. What makes you _tick_?"

As the Joker steps towards Zoe, Lawton steps between him. At the exact same time, Flag calls out, "Leave her alone."

Joker's eyes don't leave Lawton. They're sizing each other up before the Joker turns his head to Flag.

"You, I also don't know…No, no _….no, no, no_ , no-I do! I recognize that chiseled face, those dead eyes. The eyes of a man whose seen a battlefield—you're a soldier. No, no- _the_ soldier! Captain, wasn't it?"

"Puddin'!" Harley suddenly tries again. Her face is twisted in a desperate plea but also a smile, like she's coaxing a cat that she knows will scratch her to still come back.

Joker ignores her.

"You work with her…with _them_. You captured my girl, my Queen….not once, but _twice_ …"

"Mr. J!" Harley calls. The Joker's back is to Lawton and the others. Floyd glances back at Katanna, nodding to her. Silently, she steps back, pulling Zoe with her. Digger notes this, moving as well with the two, blocking Zoe from Joker's direct sight. Flag stands his ground as the Joker gets as close to him as personally uncomfortable.

"I spent a lot of lonely nights because of you…"

"I'm here now, though, Puddin'! Mr. J?"

There's a long pause before the Joker throws his hands in the air, turning to face Harley.

"That's right! You're here! You've returned to me—crawling back with your tail between your legs, you're back!"

Harley smiles nervously, but her shoulders relax. The Joker takes long, slow strides to reach her again.

"You're home! That's all that matters…"

"You're not mad?" Harley dares to ask, pouting.

"I'm always mad. Madness is my constant state of mind— _our_ constant state of mind. We're all mad, my dear. Mad? Yes, I'm mad. At you? _What_ …do I have to be mad at you for?"

Harley sighs in relief as the Joker slides his arm around her waist.

"You're innocent, my dear."

Lawton and Flag react first as the Joker pushes Harley back, pulling forth a pistol from his coat jacket.

"- _They're_ not."

And in a split second, the entire unit lights up.

Goons of all disguises appear from the shadows, shooting at the group. Katanna unsheathes her katana, blocking several bullets as if the thin blade was a wide shield, deflecting them as she pushed Zoe behind her. Digger, too, throws a boomerang before feeling for the doorway. It takes him a split second to push the right spot in the wall, and he turns back in time to catch his weapon and yell at Katanna, "This way! Bring 'er here!"

" _Daddy_?!" Zoe yells, but Deadshot has both magnums raised, sleeves torn back, and is yelling at Katanna to get his daughter out of here. The last moment Zoe sees of her father is of him diving behind the coverage of an abandoned carousel horse, yelling for her to run, and the feeling of two hands (both firm, yet wildly different) tugging her away from the shelter.

* * *

Croc takes a few bullets, charging a man dressed like a past president (Croc loves history, but never memorized the 40-something Presidents. Not like Waller was filling the holes in his education while incarcerated anyway). Chato is a burning skull and hands, creating a wave of a flame wall that melts and warps the bullets before they reach him.

Flag is crouched beside Lawton, trying to aim straight and avoid watching Croc tear at a man's throat.

The Joker is dancing as if he's in a 50's musical, humming to the tempo of maniacal bullets. Harley gathers herself to her feet, horrified.

"Puddin'?!"

Joker ignores her, adding in hand movements as if conducting a concert—he hits the crescendo and a window on the second-floor landing opens to reveal a panda-suited man with a machine gun.

" _Puddin'_!"

Deadshot snatches a pistol from Flag's holster, aiming at the Gatling—he hits a bullet dead into jamming the ammo and after only three rounds the gun clicks and sparks. The panda motions frustration before leaping down from his perch to grab another endless gun to mow them down with.

"I thought he wasn't gonna be here, huh?" Lawton shouts. Harley ignores him. She's crawling her way under the gunfire towards the Joker.

"Puddin'? H-hey, these are my friends—stop it!"

The Joker finally ends his performance to look wildly at Harley; his eyes betray no emotion other than chaos.

"My dear…My Queen…My Bombshell Bubblegum Blonde …"

He reaches a hand up to cup her face. For a moment, Harley smiles.

"You're either mine, or you're theirs. And I don't like to share."

Amongst all the gunfire, the point blank one into Harley's side is the most resounding.

Lawton screams Harley's name the loudest, while Flag makes a run for her, dodging the hail of bullets.

* * *

The Doctor watches the witch twitch unnervingly. Her eyes have rolled in and she seems to be in a dream or a trance. He feels unnerves and watches the IV drip slowly sink. He wonders if, as a precaution, he can add just one more mg…

He feels the sweat on the back of his neck and shakes his head silently to himself—if Enchantress dies, Waller will do much worse than simply kill him.

And then, the witch goes still—still and silent.

The doctor panics, wondering if the witch is truly dying, dead, or faking it. He hesitates, all the while running through his mind the horrors awaiting him should Waller find out about his impudence.

He doesn't have much time to react to her silence, however, because suddenly the witch is back—except she's not. The rusted metal and dirt and grime is faded. The girl is the same, but her hair is oily with sweat, not dirt and charcoal. The green flakes of skin reveal human flesh, untattooed. The symbols fade and her eyes have no light in them.

The witch is gone—it's just the girl.

And her wails of pain and shock immediately alert the doctor that she is _dying_.

"Oh, _Fuck_ -!"

He runs to her side, reacting without thinking. The girl is convulsing—he can't ween her off the drugs fast enough. He starts to pull at the IVs, releasing her from the chemicals. She's still strapped in, he reminds himself. He can't believe he's thinking this, _but please turn back into the witch!_

Her pupils are dilated and wide, with fear and pain, and her gasping, dry mouth is choking out a hoarse scream.

"I-I'm sorry-" He continues to chant, suddenly dawning on him that this 'witch' the whole time was a human underneath. This poor girl—damned to be tied to this witch.

It doesn't for a second cross his mind that she would ever, possibly in a million years, come to agree with sharing her body with the witch.

When the last IV is pulled, but the girl is still foaming and writhing, he thinks to try something else. What else? Electro-shock? A water drip? Give fluids back?

When he turns back around to eye his patient, the girl is gone.

Standing, unrestrained, is the witch.

Glowing eyes of pure hatred and all.

 _"That hurt."_

Enchantress pulls the doctor in by the shoulders, her grip digging her nails into him through his coat. His lips lock with hers except this isn't a kiss—it's a breadth of fire. He feels himself decaying from the inside out.

He screams are muffled through the disintegration of his body, and when Enchantress lets him go, he falls into a pile of dust and rot to the floor.

Enchantress steps her bare feet over him, purposely stomping where his skull once was. A residue-like pollen puffs into the air—dust—and the foot crushes the ant for good.

* * *

 _"That was a gambit even_ I _don't want to try again."_

June smirks inwardly, sharing the eyes of Enchantress as they stumble, fumbling through the halls while clawing at the walls for balance. Exhaustion is coursing through them both, but it feels liberating to no longer have chemicals pumping through them.

Enchantress is simultaneously chanting spells of healing, but this is just draining her magic. Still, without it, their body wouldn't have the strength to stand.

"You didn't have to kill him. Not that way. It was cruel and-"

 _"Are you madder that I killed him, or kissed him? It's a blessing to touch a goddess with his mortal flesh, no matter the curse or blessing I give."_

June recalls the torture she's been through, and wonders if she indeed would have minded if Enchantress killed him or not—she reminds herself they're all under Waller's orders, however."

 _"I won't tell the Soldier, if that's what you're worried about."_

June frowns, feeling a flush rise in her cheeks. How strange she can feel blemished and embarrassed, like a school girl, amongst the life-or-death escape with a literal witch of death sharing her body.

"How do we get out of here?"

Enchantress is gasping; tired and worn out, she lacks the strength to properly answer June.

 _"We…"_

She's cut off when the hallway's lights go out, followed shortly by the flashes of red for emergency. The base is suddenly aware of her escape. More than that, they've already found her.

The door at the end opens, and Waller herself stands there like a titan with four guards beside her.

"However you escaped, I'll be sure to bind you twice as hard."

"Bind _this_ , _bitch_!"

June isn't sure which one spoke for them just now.

Enchantress lifts her right arm, curling her hand and suddenly the guards are thrown together. It's a horror show as their skin and flesh meld together and from beneath Enchantress/June's nails, blood begins to pool out. Her veins seem to reach the surface of her arm, breaking through the surface as the magical strain begins to _literally_ tear her apart. The guards' horrified screams end quickly as their lives do, folding into a mass of bones and organs. Waller only shows her horror for a moment before lifting her trump card—a device in her left hand that's clearly meant to threaten Enchantress—Flag, more specifically.

Enchantress grips her right arm in her left, holding it like a sling. Her skin is a pure shade of bronze and green and she's practically dissolving. The black magic particles surrounding her are so faded, and the glow in her eyes is blindingly bright. June can feel the pain in her arm and wonders if she'll ever heal—hell, if they'll survive.

And they both are eyeing Waller's hand and for a moment Waller thinks she's won.

But, then a new feeling occurs.

There's a new sensation and it's not pain so much as adrenaline.

June feels her heart jolt as if electrocuted, and Enchantress breathes sharply, feeling the same.

This adrenaline, this strain on their hearts…

Hearts.

 _Rick_.

And suddenly Waller can go to hell and nothing else matters.

Enchantress and June simultaneously scream. They scream because the pain in their right arm. They scream as the red lights flicker and the fluorescent ones swing violently, sparking. The room flickers in darkness and Waller suddenly looks terrified—more so than she ever has been in her life.

June screams because these past few weeks have been the most torturous of her life. She's been pulled across dimensions, locked in her own mind, tethered between life and death, had the love of her life ripped apart from her twice—

Enchantress screams, pulling forth all the magic she can muster. She feels it swell in her chest and in a rush of pure adrenaline, the witch charges Waller. Her bare feet leave soot footprints in their wake and at her top speed she screams as she charges the older woman (relative to June; few creatures on this planet are older than Enchantress herself).

Then, in a split second before the reaches Waller, she's gone.

* * *

Harley falls backwards, practically in slow motion, onto a pile of money (money where the Joker just stood a top of moments ago). Tears well in her eyes but she's still smiling.

He missed her vital organs.

It's a flesh wound. A little love bite. A reminder that she can't run away from him; she's tethered to him.

These thoughts rotate in her mind as the Joker leaps down, dodging Lawton's hail of bullets. Flag is at her side momentarily, propping her head up and pressing his hand against her wound.

"You're okay, Quinn. You're gonna be fine."

"Mr. J shot me…" She muses.

Some disillusionment shatters and her eyes slowly follow after her green-haired prince, scurrying away in retreat.

Flag's guard is down and it's only the roar from K.C that alerts him to the impending shot aimed at him. In his final seconds, he thinks to shield Harley. Lawton is running, too late, to cover him. Chato is enraged and blinded by his flames, unaware of anything but his own attackers.

And then, there's a single flicker of the lights.

And she's standing there in front of Flag.

Her eyes are blazing white—far brighter and emptier than the orange spark that usually occupies her pupils. She raises her left arm and with a single swipe, all guns are yanked forth from anyone considered an enemy.

In a split second she's gone again, and like a shadow she reappears behind the henchman with his gun previously aimed at Flag. With a single sword in hand, she swings and his head rolls. Another flash and she's behind a second henchman, and then a third and a fourth.

It's blinks of men dropping and the sound of a sword cutting bone.

In moments, the room is cleared. When she's back in front of Flag, he finally gets a decent look at her.

Her right arm looks like it's been through a grinder, shredded and bleeding. He skin is decrepit and rotting. She's filthy and hardly standing. The single sword in her left-hand drops, as does she to her knees.

Flag approaches her but stops when her arm reaches out. He thinks she's warding him off, but a gasp from beside him alerts him that she is, in fact, healing Harley.

Harley's wound closes, the bullet popping cleanly from the wound leaving only a hole and blood stained ring on her shirt as evidence of the wound.

Enchantress is breathing in drawn-out, hyperventilating breadths. Her eyes can barely stay open, but she isn't done. She raises her left hand, shakily, and clutches it into a fist.

Suddenly, Lawton feels a tiny pinch in the back for his neck. Croc snarls at the flinch, and even Chato jolts from it, coming off of his flames-high. Harley gasps loudly, quickly feeling between her side and neck.

"I-it's…?"

"- _Gone_." Lawton finishes for her. "The nanomite bombs…they're gone."

 _This_ is Enchantress's limit, and now she collapses. Except, Rick catches her, holding her tenderly as the witch struggles to keep conscious.

"Where's June?!"

Enchantress manages to smirk at the irony.

 _"I do all this for you…and not even a thank you. Humans never change…ungrateful…"_

She's slipping but Flag has to know. " _June_?! Is she safe? Is she okay?!"

Enchantress is slipping unconscious, but before she does, she pulls weakly at Flag's neck, holding his face close to hers. In a breathless whisper, she smirks, _"She lives."_

Flag feels his heart sink, but in pure relief. For the first time in weeks, he's relieved. Even as Enchantress slips unconscious, he falls backwards, sitting on his knees and coddling the witch. Tears brim his eyes because June is safe. She's alive, and somewhere beneath this broken witch's claim to her body, June is inside her. And she's _alive_.

* * *

 _I'll give you one, one chance_  
 _Say you can change our heart_  
 _Where can you take what you need_  
 _And you don't need me_

* * *

 **A/N:** Again, I'm SO SORRY this took forever to type out -_- Just keep leaving reviews or PM'ing me demanding I write cause this story is so close to being finished and~! Anyway...

So They're free! Kinda... Writing the Joker is hard, and I am not a fan of him (Sorry to those who love him and Harley-this story will treed into the anti-waters for that ship...) hence why he speaks little and runs away quickly-I can't write him well (Especially Leto's version-he's unhinged enough that he's unpredictable and that's hard to write?) He definitely didn't mean to kill Harley, but him shooting her is that abusive reminder of punishment when you try to leave, and if (?) he gets another chance to see her, he'll play it off that he 'hated to hurt her' and somehow 'she brought it upon herself'-I mean for him to be using the tactics of an abuser, and it's important my readers recognize these signs...At least, I'm trying my best to show these signs...Anyway...

Enchantress and June have struck up some kind of deal that was originally gonna be covered in this chapter but I found this end-point to work, so next chapter will cover more of Enchantress and June's new relationship, though there were shades of it in this chapter in how they're now working together... I don't want Enchantress to appear too tame though-she's still a villain. Just not the villain of this story (Was she ever the _real_ villain of the movie though, even..?)

A lot is left open in this chapter but will be answered in the next (Like what was the device Waller had; was it a bluff that she thought could trick Enchantress? Does Digger still have his neck bomb?!) And finally June and Rick re-re-reunite~!

Anyway, I'll keep the A/N short this time cause if I'm gonna type a lot, it's gonna be the next chapter~! See you all...well, I don't wanna jinx myself, so let's just say 'in the next chapter' and end there. Forgive me for taking so long! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, sorry if it wasn't worth the long wait!


	11. Under the Tide

So~ I'm incredibly busy as of late, but somehow I managed to squeeze this out! It's actually kinda long..? A lot of it was typed about a month or so ago, before my summer schooling started, but lately I've been inspired by friends enough to try to clean off my plate-I have a LOT going on this month, and I'd feel better and a bit more productive if nothing else I accomplished publishing this chapter! Still, sorry as always for the long wait -_- It's been awhile and I think I'm due a re-watch of Suicide Squad, since it's been nearly a year since it's release and I haven't seen it since maybe Christmas~ ;p

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The title is derived from CHVRCHES' album, of which the story is named from, and this chapter is, as the others, named after a song from that album. The cursing I think is relatively low in this one, but maybe as always be wary of any trigger warnings-there's a lot of fatigued character's POV in this chapter, and you never are thinking quite right when you're fatigued!

* * *

 _Take in a breath_

 _Fill in your lungs_

 _Keeping you alive_

* * *

In the dark void that's become far too familiar to June, she seems half alive, half dead- floating weightlessly with her eyes glazed over. There's a numbness over her entire body, particularly in her right arm. She ponders if she should give in and sleep, because for once this isn't pain. This is just a dull numbness and it's lulling in a way—compared to these past weeks of being thrown around and used…

 _She's tired of being used_ , June realizes. _By Enchantress, by Waller…_

She's the most unwilling accomplice to _awful_ crimes and she's a witness and partaker in the punishment and pain of retributions for other's actions.

She lets her eyes close.

 _She didn't kill all those people in Midway City_ , she tells herself. _All those soldiers. The cultists._ The thugs and criminals and _innocents_ _and_ _civilians_. All of them— _that wasn't her_.

It was _Enchantress_. It was Waller, thinking she could control Enchantress— _twice_.

 _This has nothing to do with her_! June suddenly feels like crying or screaming, but settles for tightening her eyes shut because as she tenses, she feels the numbness fade. She tries relaxing.

She's letting the darkness take her.

" _You'll die…if you do that."_

June doesn't heed Enchantress' warning. The witch can't reach her here.

So _what_ if she dies? She'll take Enchantress with her. It'll be vengeance for all those families lost; all that death and destruction. And Waller won't have anything on Flag. He can leave her finally.

" _It doesn't work that way. You don't give up here—we're not done."_

Enchantress is riling her up—angering her, thinking that _she_ , the witch, knows what's best for June. Like she ever cared a _damn_ about June as anything other than a vessel!

But, getting angry only brings the pain to surface and June relaxes again. _Ignore the witch,_ she thinks. Ignore the witch and let the peace of the darkness overcome her.

" _You're running away. What about the soldier?"_

Rick would be better off without her. The _world_ would be. She told him once to kill her, if it meant stopping Enchantress. He tried—he did as she asked. And miraculously life decided to throw her a bone and kept her alive and they _thought_ they were invincible for that short period of time.

But, that was an illusion. Just the eye of the storm. Enchantress is back, and rather than having Rick dirty his hands, his conscience, June will do what's necessary. She'll take out herself _and_ the witch.

" _I thought we were past this pity party."_

June is drowning out Enchantress' voice.

" _So, you die, and I die. And what? The soldier moves on, forgets you and lives the happy life you want him to? The one you believe he can have finally with you…_ us _…out of the picture? And that solves everything. That stops Waller from holding_ one _trump card in her hands."_

June can't feel her body anymore. She's so relaxed, so _tired_ …

" _What of the other soldier? K2? Or…GQ?! You'll leave him to his fate?"_

June won't listen to Enchantress anymore-

" _What are you trying to_ prove _right now?! Who are you trying to_ avenge _? Those nameless people you never knew? The ones_ I _killed? Are you trying to take out me in some_ self-sacrificing _way? Or are you running away from the pain and the guilt that you're_ so sure _you don't have."_

It's like electricity through her bones as June snaps her eyes open.

" _-You think they're better off without you? And that's why they've risked_ everything _to come save you? I thought we were past this—that we were going to save ourselves, and save_ him _. That's the_ only _reason we've made it this far! I…I am a_ god _amongst insects, but I_ alone _could not have escaped…"_

Enchantress inhales sharply through gritted teeth, and just maybe June is hearing her out.

" _I_ chose _you, June. Not because you were closest to my temple on a random day. I've waited in the shadows for centuries for the right body to inhabit—I sought you out,_ called _you to that temple…I chose someone_ strong _enough to hold a_ god _inside them…Wasn't it you who said we fight?_ Together _?"_

June's eyes start searching, looking for Enchantress. _Where is she, in all this darkness...?_

" _You will_ not _give up today. Not now. Not when we're_ finally _free. You will_ live _. Do not get me wrong, though. I still intend to rule this world…and I am almost certain you intend to try to stop me. And you may want to give up the fight here and now and take us both with you, but that is not you speaking. That is the darkness overcoming you, and you are not so weak as to be swayed by it. You're a fighter, remember? So_ fight me _!"_

" _Fight her!"_

 _Rick…_

June's eyes are wide open. The numbness is tingling and fading, replaced by the sensation of pain. June feels herself crying, but then realizes she's actually screaming—screaming and thrashing and fighting.

Fighting back to the surface, to the light.

To everyone waiting for her. _To Rick._

* * *

Harley is searching through the back-room's inventory of the safehouse. A first aid kit with more lollipops than band aids. Guns line the walls, but paintings of strange art deco lean against them. There's lose money in stacks that make up their own furniture, despite the actual furniture which lacks any taste whatsoever—lip-shaped couches and leopard print bar stools. There's a stash of alcohol and Harley pours a shot of gin, only to ignore it and drink straight from the bottle.

"Ready to tell me what the hell happened?"

She nearly spits up the gin, which causes her throat to burn, before she swallows it down and coughs, angrily glaring at her surprise visitor.

"Between the two of us, whose more qualified to listen to someone talk about their feelings, Lawton?"

Lawton leans in the doorway, arms crossed. He's tense but he's not wounded—not even a scratch.

He's eyeing Harley's side, where the hole in her shirt is but the hole in her skin isn't.

"You alright?"

Harley shrugs, handing Lawton the untaken shot.

"Guess the witch forgot about that time I, y'know, betrayed her and all…Not even a scratch! See?"

Harley lifts her shirt, perhaps too high, but Floyd isn't looking at her wound—or rather, non-wound. He's looking where her hurt really shows—her face. Her eyes.

"You're gonna have to talk to someone about… _that_. So, why not me? Digger would just make fun of you, and Croc ain't the emotional support you can really rely on…"

"I could always try Katanna," Harley shrugs, trying to joke her way around the subject.

" _Harley_."

"We fought. Alright? We _fought_. And we _always_ fight. But this time was…different. He changed for me…he changed _because_ of me. I had this _effect_ on him…" Harley smiles, thinking of past memories to herself. But, those glorious memories suddenly stand out with some details…

"-And then one day, I suggested we bust you all out. I was bored—Mr. J…he has his crew, and they listen to me, but I don't want _minions_ …I wanted…I _want_ friends," She shrugs, smirking at Lawton with vulnerability.

"Puddin' wouldn't have it though. He had other plans-plans for messing with the Bat, or torturing the Bat, or playing with the Bat…It was _always_ Batman." Harley's eyes fall to the floor.

"So I tried to split. Left him a note, told him I needed space—I…"

She hesitates, unsure of what to say.

"See, something is telling me you don't quite hate the Batman as much as… _'Puddin'_ does…"

Harley smirks at Lawton's detective skills. _Good observation_.

"If you had the chance, you'd kill him. He's just someone that's in-between you and the Joker…but him? Joker? He'd rather court Batman for the rest of eternity, and that bothers you…you're not number one to him. You're just a minion-"

"-I ain't just a _minion_!" Harley snaps, but something rings true with what Lawton says.

"Sure you aren't…" Lawton mutters slowly. "But _maybe_ being second-best wasn't good enough for you."

Harley flinches, guiltily.

"-But that's not a bad thing. You shouldn't have to be second to anyone. We may be criminals…the scum of the earth…but, we still have feelings. We still can love."

Harley looks quizzically at Lawton. He's quick to counter.

"-I love Zoe more than _anything_ in the… _whole_ world. Even Enchantress, evil incarnate, had a soft spot for Juney's boyfriend…So, _yeah_ …It's okay to love someone."

Harley eyes the gin bottle. Lawton takes his shot, hissing as the smooth liquor goes down.

"-and it's okay to want them to love you back."

Harley keeps her eyes on that bottle, refusing to look at Lawton. He turns to leave, but she calls out, without looking,

"-He really did shoot me, didn't he?"

Lawton doesn't look back, but nods slowly.

"Yeah… _yeah_ , he did."

"And it doesn't matter if he missed any important organ, or if the witch healed me…people who love you…they don't _shoot_ you."

Lawton recalls the time he had a chance to shoot Harley. And he chose not to.

"No. People don't _shoot_ people they love."

* * *

Enchantress' eyes suddenly snap open and she gasps for a breadth of air, jolting up. She hisses at the pain in her arm, but surprises the gang by not blasting them all twenty feet from her. They wait unnervingly near her, encircled. Beside her lays the pale girl—the trickster—and the soldier. _Her heart_ …

Enchantress' eyes find him, but ignore his eyes, and stare directly at her heart, beating beneath the uniform and flesh and ribs. It glows green—new, young and not ancient like her one from before. But it aches. She feels the pain it feels—the _want_ and desire.

For _her_.

 _June_.

"Where's June?"

The witch's eyes are wide and she ignores Flag momentarily to look at her surroundings.

The pale woman has wrapped bandages around Enchantress' right arm. _Utterly useless_. Enchantress, with a little time to regain her magic, can heal that wound instantly. The monstrous half-man, half-creature also looms over her, but seems the least interested. The one who defeated her brother—the only one she ever thought to respect of this ragtag group of misfits—stands nearby, but he looks to be the most defensive. Perhaps he expects her to snap and thinks he's the one who can stand best against her.

Deadshot, she recalls, stands beside Flag, who is leaning beside Enchantress. He looks like he actually cares about her, but Enchantress knows the truth. They all merely want June back.

 _Well, they could at_ least _thank_ her _._

" _Don't even want to know how I—_ we _-escaped?"_

"I'm curious," retorts Deadshot. Flag bites back his plea to see June. If Enchantress wants to toy with them, he'll take the bait; but, when enough is enough…

" _Little June Moon's idea, actually. See, Waller had us…_ restrained _. Upstate. Quite the distance from here…"_

Flag curses. He knows the base immediately. It's a bunker that only his level of intelligence and higher knows—knew—about. It was decommissioned after it was thought to have been compromised by spies a year ago. Waller must have set that whole lie up just to get everyone in the agency's eyes off of it. And for what? To be her private back-up prison?

As if she didn't have _enough_ black sites.

" _I had to keep her suppressed—she couldn't handle it. The drugs, the torture…"_

Harley squirms a little. She knows all about torture—she's tortured many people over the years with…her partner. But they were mortals. Even the toughest of them were just men…or even kids.

 _What does it take to restrain a god?_

" _-At least, I thought she couldn't. But, it was her idea, her plan… So, we switched."_

Flag flinches, like he's going to grab at Enchantress' collar or shoulders or something— _you did what?_ But he hesitates. If Enchantress is still here, that means June is still alive…

"— _nearly killed her, though…fool put both our lives on the line."_

Flag has to be grabbed at the shoulder by Deadshot to be restrained this time.

" _But, it worked. I took back control once she had flatlined and that idiot of a guard or_ whoever _had freed her…"_

Flag's blood is freezing.

" _Then…we felt it."_ And she looks at Flag.

Again, not his eyes—his chest.

She recalls Waller's bluff, her threat—she lets her eyes float over Flag, looking beneath him, but finds nothing. Her eyes dart back to her heart. So, it was a bluff, she smirks, _almost_ willing to compliment Waller for the ballsy resort.

" _My…_ Our _heart."_

She reaches out to it but catches herself. Her eyes are lost in desire, but it's hard to read them beyond the dim embers that glow at their center.

" _-And it brought us here. Took…_ quite _a lot out of me."_

Enchantress doesn't want to give up that she's practically drained. That it went beyond her magic to save them—to save her heart, if she's honest. At the end there, she was hardly in control of what she was doing. It all felt so subconscious…

She doesn't recall healing Quinn's arm, or banishing the bombs, as she'll soon find out she did when they begin to question her. In the end it was more her magic than her, and perhaps in that state of pure adrenaline it wasn't her subconscious alone controlling what she did. Perhaps June's slipped in there a bit at the end.

Enchantress almost smiles at the thought _. The girl has potential…_

"Where is June?"

 _Ah, persistent as always._

Enchantress smirks, cocking her head to finally look Flag in the eyes.

" _One of these days you'll realize I'm not your enemy. We're on the same team—keeping June alive. I thought just now would have shown that…Maybe I should've let her slip into the darkness, then, just now…she almost gave it all up. I brought her back, and here we are."_

"- _You_ are."

Enchantress squints her eyes, annoyed. " _And_ that _is the kind of attitude I'm supposed to reward?"_

Flag clenches his fists. He won't apologize to the witch, but he'll bite his tongue.

" _Remember. We're in this together now. The three of us…we're_ allbound _to each other. You made that deal. And she and I? We've made our_ own _deal…"_

Enchantress smirks, and ignores as Flag asks what that means. She slumps back, lets her eyes roll, and the darkness dissipates.

In her place is suddenly a new form, bare and frail. Pale, but no longer greenish. The black locks of dirt are now damp blonde strands and those orange eyes are normal hazel. Wide-eyed hazel eyes full of fear and pain and unfamiliarity.

It's June.

Flag dives in to hug her, but for a moment she doesn't recognize him and flinches.

Then, everything comes flooding back and she throws herself into his arms. Her crying is immediately hysterical, overflowing with joy and pain, and everyone steps aside to give the two a moment. Harley is quick to find a blanket (a tarp, really, that's slightly riddled with holes) to throw over June to keep her modest, but June hardly notices.

Because the tears turn to smiles and the hugging turns into kissing and June doesn't ever let go of Flag's face.

She can hold him again.

She _is_ holding him.

 _Thank you, Enchantress_ , she thinks.

The witch hears her in the darkness of their shared mind, but says nothing.

* * *

Zoe has been ignoring the pounding of her soles, begging them to slow down, for the past few blocks. Tears stain her cheeks and she wants so badly to cry out, asking what's happening to her daddy, but she knows she shouldn't make a sound. She's trying to be quiet as she runs. The woman with the mask pulling at her wrist? She's silent. Zoe's convinced she's a ninja, but she knows her daddy; if he were here to hear her say that, he would say she's being stereotyped.

Even the man who never stops talking has stopped, and Zoe wished he hadn't.

It's when Zoe's clumsy feet, tripping over each other, cause her to stumble and the woman has to catch Zoe that they finally stop. And Zoe can't help it, but her mouth upturns and she cries.

 _Loudly_. She's bawling.

"M-my _dad_?!"

"Psycho Harley and her Mr. Jello..." the Aussie mutters. He's running his hands through his hair, not hiding how freaked out he feels.

Katanna is silent, looking between behind them and Zoe. She doesn't know how to comfort the child.

It's Digger who steps up. They're in a back alley in the restaurant district—nothing fancy, mostly Ma & Pop shops. He takes a boomerang from his jacket and hits hard at the lock on the door beside them. He nudges at the handle a bit, pulls out some small clicker and then the handle sparks. An EMP, Katanna recognizes—he's short circuiting any alarm, though they're both doubtful that a place in this side of town can afford one.

Digger kicks the door in, not with much of a bang, and half pushes Katanna aside to grab Zoe by the shoulders.

"Ya know what would kill your daddy, lil'…Zoe, was it? _Yeah_? _Nothing_ I've seen of yet, _alrigh'_? And I've seen some shit-" he throws a look at Katanna, daring her to call him out on his language, but she doesn't. "He's fought clowns, monsters, witches, the _devil_ herself…and he ain't dead yet. He's gonna be alright. It's _you_ we're worried about, alrigh'? You ain't got the skills like your pops, and that ain't necessarily a bad thing…But, we're gonna lay low inside, _alright_? Rest up, and wait for yer dad to reach out to us when the coast is clear. _Alright_? Ya believe me?"

Zoe nods slowly.

"Good kid. Come inside now, ye'?"

Zoe follows his hand and Katanna slowly follows after them both, quizzically looking at Digger as he…handled a situation with grace...?

Everyone's full of surprises.

* * *

Inside, it's an Italian restaurant clearly run by non-Italians. Digger continues to distract Zoe by playing around with the pots and pans, putting on an impromptu drumming session and making faces as he sniffs through the spice rack. He gets Zoe to chuckle and finally asks if she's hungry. She slowly nods, as if guilty, so he throws two pots on the stove, hot wires them start the burners (Katanna rolls her eyes—the dials were _right there_ ; it's like he's showing off how unhinged he is) and he brings one pot of water to a boil.

"What's yer favorite pasta, Zo?"

She answers bowtie, and he curses when there isn't any.

"What kinda establishment…" He instead throws together a mix of angel hair, penne, and rotelle. Zoe stifles a giggle watching the miss-match of noodles fumble into the water as Digger struggles through the freezer to find meatballs that are thawed enough. His brilliant idea when he finds none?

Hasten the thawing by short circuiting another boomerang and sparking the meatballs. He nearly causes a fire and Katanna steps in, cursing him out in Japanese, before taking over the cooking.

She's so frustrated with his lack of survival skills—I mean, by _God, it's spaghetti_ —she doesn't notice him slip her device from her side.

He sits next to Zoe, sighing as he props his feet on the counter across from the one he and Zoe are seated on.

"I never g-got your name…either of yours," Zoe sniffles. Digger feigns bewilderment, pretending to be flabbergasted.

"Your ol' pops never told you bout _mwah_? I'm insulted. Really. We'll have strong words when we see him, won't we, 'Coon?"

Katanna glares over her shoulder at Digger's nickname.

"Right. Welp, _mini-Deadshot_ ," Digger holds out a hand for Zoe to grip and shake. He purposely overdoes the shake, causing Zoe to giggle as he swings their arms up and down wildly. "I am King of the Kangaroos—'cause I bounce back just like they do, eh?—a _Mr. One-and-Only_ Jack 'Digger' Harkness: Captain from the Royal Navy, of Her Majesty's private guard, _no less,_ with enough badges to make your girl scout vest look like a painted doyly! I prefer my title, so if all else fails yer memory, call me Cap'n! Boomer works, or Boomerang…Many know me as Captain Boomerang, but I gather a squirt like you thinks that sounds a little funny so, please, I take my title _very_ seriously!"

Zoe does giggle as Digger winks and straightens his back, mockingly bowing and throwing around wild gestures.

"A-and her?" Zoe asked through a toothy grin.

"She's Tatsu."

Katanna glares at Digger, finally choosing to turn her back to him and ignore him completely.

Digger looks to Zoe, motioning a " _shh_ " finger before pulling forth the device he snatched from Katanna. He fiddles with it until a screen appears with faces in green boxes—Zoe quickly recognizes her dad's mugshot and opens her mouth to speak, but Digger again warns her to keep hush about it.

"Soo…. _Boomerangs_ , huh? _Why_?"

Digger shrugs, experimenting on the device.

"Dad ran a toy shop. Brat like me? Broke every toy I played with. Cept those. You throw 'em away, they come right back. Wasn't much te' do in the Outback—it's a bit a desert, if ya didn't know, so I learned a few tricks. Got real good. Could knock a row of cans off a fence from a kangaroo's leap length away. Then I moved up—fences turned to shoulders, cans to heads… Tricked 'em out so they didn't just come back. Now they'd explode, or short-circuit a bank's security, or-"

Digger stops when Zoe's smile fades and he realizes if she repeated any of this to her dad, he'd have a bullet in the side of his head.

"H-heads of cabbage…ye' know? Not…not _people_. That's—" He made motions, trying to cover his tracks. Zoe doesn't believe him.

"So…you _both_ work with my dad?"

"I don't know 'bout 'work with'… _by_ , maybe…in _proximity-_ "

"He's being a hero now, isn't he? Saving this woman, and _me_? And the missions he talks about…he says he does things no one else can, or _will_."

Digger nods his head to the side. That's…a way of putting it.

"So, you're both heroes too, _right_?"

Katanna looks back; not all the way, but enough to tell how Digger's body language reacts. His shoulders tense and he hesitates.

"Ah, not all of us are, no. Sorry kid. Yer daddy…yeah, he's a hero. Don't tell 'em I said it, though. He likes this tough act of calling himself a 'hitman' but…he's got that 'heart o' gold' 'n all that."

"You do too." Zoe adds.

Digger tightens his lips, carefully treading how to respond.

"Heroes run into danger, lil' Zo. Not away. Ye can't be a hero if yer a coward, too."

He stands up at this, pocketing the device (which he's had no luck cracking) to stand by Katanna.

"I can boil some pasta, Bamboo. You, ah, talk to the girl. Maybe trade girly secrets 'er something…"

Katanna watches Digger, solemnly, take the ladle from her hands to stir the water. When their hands touch, there's a hesitation that she nearly forgets to draw back from. He doesn't notice.

"Was that true?"

He cocks a brow.

"..? The heads of cabbage? _No_ , of course I meant people—c'mon, Tatty—ye know me better 'in _that_ , was just tryin' ta censor for the _kid_ -"

"-No." Katanna scowls. "Your _father_. That's where you picked up your skills?"

Boomer nudges at an invisible, long-forgotten bruise on his cheek, "Among other things from 'im…nawh, the _tool_ , I picked up from him. The _skills_? Hard work and perseverance—all me, sweet-cheeks."

Katanna sits in silence, unable to look Digger in the eye.

"You once…told me the world was unfair. That how everyone seemed to be getting second chances with the ones they loved…"

Digger looks up, half-guilty, half-nervously, at Katanna. She refuses to meet his eyes.

"I loved my husband. I always will. But…I don't think life has been so unfair to me…I don't think…I do think, I mean, that…that maybe there is a second chance-"

It's an intimate confession, and Katanna is saying more than she actually is. No, not Katanna, the assassin with the soul-sealing sword. _Tatsu_ …

Digger interjects, breaking the tension.

"Y'know, I gave everyone a lot of shit for not knowing my birthday but…honestly, I don't know it myself."

Tatsu raises a brow underneath her mask.

"Mah mum had me in the bed of a truck—didn't have me registered til a few days later. Left before I was two. Dad drank away the memories; of her, and anything that reminded him of her. Guess my birthday was a part of that. I know it's sometime in August, but…Dad used to pick a dart and hit a day on the calendar every time August came around and… _that_ was the day. Not that we ever really celebrated it, but… Without a birthday…without knowing when you entered life...? It kinda feels like you're not even living…like you're walking along the sidelines of a cricket game, and you can't enter but you can watch…Guess that's why I always thought life was unfair. I never felt like I really was a part of it. Feeling detached from life? Keeps you from having much of a conscience for it; that's why I kill. Doesn't keep me up at night…Maybe I'm just looking for something to fill that void…"

"My father taught me to respect the blade…" Katanna lifts her blade. "My husband showed me how to wield it… But I am neither of them."

Digger awkwardly looks around, uncomfortable with such an intimate moment. That, or he wonders why Katanna would compare herself to men.

 _Careful_ , he reminds himself. _That's sexist_.

"Well, yer…good with the blade. I never met 'em…yer dad, or yer husband, but…you're here, and they're not. So…I'd say you're better-"

"- _I am_." Katanna slams the sheath to her side. "And you're _not_ a coward. You _are_ a hero." There's a hesitating moment where neither speak. Zoe is mindlessly watching the meat brown, paying no attention to the pair. Tatsu recalls that, once upon a time, she had realized Digger wasn't a coward; just a broken man who didn't know love. And now she knew why.

Digger looks between Tatsu's masked eyes and her mouth…He never thought of kissing an Asian before.

She'd probably trap his soul in her blade if he dared.

 _But, when did he care that much about living...?_

He begins to lean in.

At that moment, his belt vibrates. He jumps, grabbing the device, only to nearly drop it.

" _Shit_ -!"

Katanna jumps, realizing that the device is the one she had, and almost scolds Digger for snatching it from her before she notices what he's cursing at.

Everyone, except Digger, has a grey overlay over their faces.

 _The bombs went off._

"Aww _, f_ -"

* * *

Rick hesitates touching June. She's so fragile…

His finger hovers over her cheek, afraid that if he touches her, if he presses too firmly against her soft skin, she'll vanish.

She leans into him, and he jumps a little but she's made his decision for him so he wraps his arms around her and holds her.

"It was…dark. A-and I almost gave up…" She's crying, her eyes red and swollen. "I-I almost gave up on everything! On you…on _life_ -"

"-You didn't. You're here. I'm here—we're together, June!" Those words were a dream not too long ago, Flag remembers. _God, it's good to have June back in his arms_.

"Sh-she's the one, Rick. She pulled me out of the darkness and…and I wouldn't be here without her…"

There's a lot of things that wouldn't happen if Enchantress wasn't here, Rick reminds himself, but bites his tongue. She's right. Enchantress saved June. Saved all of them.

"June…I don't know how, but I promise we'll find a way to get rid of-"

"-No. No, Rick, you don't…Enchantress, _she's_ …She's always going to want to control the world. To shape and mold it to be her own. But I can fight her…A-and she needs me. Us both, really. She'll try…she'll try every day of her immortal life to fight us, but…I'm not weak anymore!" June smiles. "I can fight her. I can fight back. A-and I'm…I'm stronger with her. _I_ can save _you_ , Rick!" This brings tears to both their eyes. _Hers_ , because she is so happy that he doesn't have to save her anymore. _His_ , because she thinks she has to be strong and 'save him'.

" _June_ …"

"Rick, I…I know it was never easy…I wanted for so long for her to be gone. B-but without her, we'd never have met…I-I barely recognize who I'd be without her anymore! Those weeks when she wasn't there… it was a relief, but also…also terrifying. A-and fate has spoken—I can't lose her! And I don't want to waste any more time trying to run away from her…We spent so long waiting for a time after her, and then I almost lost you…twice, _three_ times…I'm ready to accept that she's a part of me, but she won't come between us anymore. I want to live my life with you! I want to stop waiting for the day 'she's gone' and…and start that future today!"

June feels so relieved. Wasn't it just moments ago, to her it felt like, that she was ready to give up on life? Now, she wants to live it to the fullest…with Rick?

"Enchantress isn't going to control our lives anymore. And neither is Waller. I'm done being manipulated, and _you_ —you being manipulated _because_ of me! It ends, Rick! It ends _now_."

Rick is slow to nod. He's beginning to realize that the June he fell in love with? That wasn't he June without Enchantress. She's right—they met when Enchantress was a part of her, and they fell in love that way. And they put so much of their life on hold, waiting for the shoe that was Enchantress to drop.

He smirks, finally realizing that Enchantress or not, he loves June. And they'll continue with their lives, no matter if a crazed witch could potentially possess the love of his life and try to destroy the world…again.

"Still looking at Italy?" Flag asks, leaning in to hold June's face.

She smiles, but pulls back.

"There's still one thing left…"

"GQ."

Chato steps forward. June nods slowly. Rick inhales sharply.

"We need to find my daughter." Lawton cuts in.

"And the Blade Buddies," Harley shrugs.

"Waller isn't gonna stop coming after us…" Lawton adds. There's a thought behind this statement that only Harley catches onto, but she keeps mum.

"We find Harkness and Katanna first," June interjects. It's strange hearing commands from her, and everyone but Flag is slightly taken aback. She's never been quite a part of their 'group'—but, so naturally, she takes charge. To the others, they assume it's rubbed off from Flag. But to him, he recognizes…this is a new June.

A June that fought her way out of captivity, made a deal with a witch, and saved all their asses moments ago.

"We find Zoe, and we make sure she's somewhere safe—even if that means keeping her by our side."

Lawton steps forward to interject, but Harley grabs at his arm.

"You know we're the greatest weapon; Taskforce X, ya? If we can't keep a little girl safe…"

Lawton looks at her skeptically.

"…No more Mr. J. I promise. Just _us_. The core group. We, alone…we can protect Zoe."

Lawton slowly nods.

"-and then, we save GQ."

"Do we know where he's even being held?"

June closes her eyes. Enchantress is silent, retracted so far in her mind, but something surfaces. A hint.

She'll take it.

"I…think so."

"That's the _best_ we have to go after?"

"We search every inch of the globe until we find him, if I'm wrong." June offers.

"He's one of us," Killer Croc, silent until now, offers. There's an unspoken recognition between the two that only he and GQ quite recognize, and just like Chato, K.C feels a loyalty to GQ.

"And then what? We keep on the run our whole lives? Go our separate ways?"

"We'll figure that out…" Flag offers.

"For now, I think we have a good grocery list~" Harley winks, lifting her signature bat, and nearly knocking Lawton as she does so. "So, let's find Zo' and save the Seal!"

Except at that moment, they immediately check their first item off the list.

Digger is panting heavily in the doorway, having sprinted his way around the alleys trying to re-find the base of operations. He takes one look at everyone gathered and collapses, letting out a string of curses. Close behind is Katanna, far less out of breadth, who does sigh in relief, allowing the small figure of Zoe to come into view now that they confirmed her father was not, in fact, headless.

" _Christ_ , don't scare me like that again!"

* * *

Katanna bows her head slightly in a greeting to June, pleased to see the girl alive. They'd never really met, or bonded, or talked, but Katanna knows about June through Flag, and in Flag she trusts. She's got his back, so she's got June's as well.

Digger ignores personal boundaries and walks directly up to June, rubbing the top of her head like a child. Flag flinches, but Digger is grinning proudly, smiling and congratulating June as if she'd just announced an engagement.

"Good fer you, ya came back! Saves us trouble. So, s'pose we're out of here then, eh? Place gives me the creeps—no offense, Queenie, this is yer home an' all…"

Harley shrugs, toying with gum she's found and popping it loudly beside Croc—testing his patience.

June smiles at Digger, still adjusting to this ragtag whom her boyfriend has come to respect. Lawton keeps looking at her with guilt, and she means to pull him aside—to tell him she doesn't blame him, for selling her or any of them out; not now, after meeting Zoe.

The young girl smiles up at June. "Did my dad save you?"

June smiles back, kneeling to the girl's height.

"i…"

"- _She_ saved me," Lawton cuts in, before June can even begin to explain… _her_. June smiles a relieving smile, already having gone through her mind the multitude of ways to explain to Zoe that _she's_ actually possessed by an ancient villainous goddess who saved her, then was saved by Lawton and crew, then finally saved herself _and_ them.

For a bunch of villains, they were accomplishing quite a bit of heroism as of late…

Digger is messing with Katanna's device, pressing through various touch-screen buttons.

Katanna snatches it from him before he accidentally blows his own bomb off.

"So, er, how'd ya all do it, anyway? Getting the…?" He motions at the back of his head, followed by an explosion signal with his hands.

June apologetically stands up, rubbing at the back of her own neck.

"I…I'm sorry, Harkness…i-it wasn't me exactly…"

Digger doesn't hide his dissatisfaction, sighing as if he'd scuffed new shoes or some other mildly disappointing news.

"Well…I s'pose I deserve that, running an' all."

June frowns, shaking her head.

"No, that's not it. You and Katanna saved Zoe, you-!"

She closes her eyes, reaching out to find Enchantress.

 _You_ owe _me this. You owe_ them _this._

Enchantress isn't answering.

 _Enchantress!_

Still nothing.

June is irritated, feeling an annoyance boil up.

 _We're in this_ together _! You wouldn't be here without me, and_ I _wouldn't be here without them! Help me!_

She's picturing Digger, trapping the temple and risking his life digging out his original bomb to stop Incubus.

She's trying to surface up Enchantress, recalling the memory of _how long ago? When you saved everyone else,_ Enchantress _!_

She can practically picture the bomb—some stupid, small device that threatens the life of someone who Rick cares about…who she cares about…

June feels something in her hand, opening her eyes and glancing at it.

It looks…oddly exactly like she imagined.

There's a gurgle of laughter from the back of her mind—Enchantress.

 _Did she do this..?_

June holds out her hand, presenting the device as if it were a piece of gum for the taking. Everyone's eyes widen at the sight of it. Flag most of all.

Digger, already reacting to a pinch in the back of his neck, does a double take, glancing from June's hand to her eyes; as if expecting Enchantress to glow from within them.

" _That's_ -! That's my..!"

Katanna glances at her device.

"You're…disabled." She glances up at Digger, who does nothing to hide how relieved he feels, and then at June. "彼女は神々に恵まれている"

June keeps flickering her eyes from the bomb to Rick, to Digger, to the bomb.

It sparks slightly and she drops it to the ground, jumping back. Rick throws an arm around her, shielding her, while everyone else also jumps back. Lawton throws himself over Zoe, and Diablo steps in front of the father-daughter duo, his arms lighting aflame to act as a shield should the bomb go off.

Rick is breathing heavily into June's neck, trying to calm himself as it becomes evident the bomb has fizzled and deactivated.

"June…was that Enchantress? …Or _you_?"

June is wide-eyed, staring from under Rick's arm at the device that is just _sitting_ there.

"I…th-that was…"

Harley is the bravest, approaching the device and lifting it slowly. The others throw out hands, warning her against it.

Harley takes her chewed gum, sticking it to the device. She strolls over, half-skipping, in her heels to a nearby car. Something gaudy and purple, decked out to be as attention-grabbing as possible. She leans in through the window, her backside falling nearly out of her shorts (enough for Lawton to turn Zoe away from the sight, though for whose benefit is unsure) before wiggling out from messing with the steering wheel.

"Me and Mr. J love leaving lil' _presents_ around for each other… I think he'll _appreciate_ this one."

She winks at Lawton, who sternly nods once—not necessarily condoning the action, but proud at her show of independence.

June slowly grips Rick back, hiding her eyes of disbelief into his jacket.

"I-I think…it was m-me, Rick…I-I used magic!"

Rick inhales, his eyebrows raising in a show of, really, not much surprise.

"June…I don't think we'll ever have any sense of normalcy again for as long as we live."

They didn't.

* * *

GQ hasn't slept in days—or is it that he hasn't awoken in days? He's been sedated and experimented on—it's been… twelve surgeries?

His blood is drawn what seems every hour, and he's hooked up to IVs and machines purely to stay alive. Doctors treat him like a piece of artwork, being restored with precision but being retouched in every possible inch.

He hears them occasionally talking, either amongst themselves or on phones of benefactors (or Waller, even); exclaiming how extraordinary it is; to come back from death!

Clearly Waller is keeping them in the dark. It's no chemical miracle dealing with any part of his body's chemistry. It was pure luck and the magic of an ancient meta.

He thinks of June and Rick, who he knows were caught… During his own kidnapping, he'd overheard a guard call in to Waller, alerting her of the success of their mission, only to be told of Waller's own successes.

They'd all been caught.

Chato, whom GQ had learned quite a bit about having been trapped in a limbo dimension with for what felt like eternity, had been captured.

K.C, who GQ had come to respect after showing he was one with the Seals, was captured.

Captain Boomerang, Harley Quinn, and Deadshot…they'd all been captured, re-captivated and put back in cells; tagged with bombs like bar codes on produce. Sent on these suicidal missions, as if because they chose the life of crime they're no longer _human_ enough to have rights.

(He doubts K.C was _ever_ considered _human_ enough…)

And after they'd all been through so much to save June (and himself), they all were rewarded with…

There's a reverberating knock at the doors and G.Q tries to lift his head to turn towards it—his body is so numb, however, that while he imagines his head moving, it really doesn't. He feels practically out of his own body with how sedated they keep him, but his mind is in a constant state of trying to remember where he is, and remind him that he's alive.

Everything's loud now. There's more chatter, more footsteps; more people? Maybe his vision is just doubling—maybe he's just losing all sense of reality and everything is a giant illusion.

Maybe he did die back under that station, in the water, and nothing since has been real.

Shadows dance before his eyes—he could be crazy though. He could very well be alone in the room.

His eyes roll back and voices mix with noises from his memory. Everything is a haze…

When he reawakens, something is pushing at his…arm? He feels pressure, and knows he's being moved or shaken…There's still noise….

Then, everything goes black, but he's still aware.

Awake.

And through the darkness, without sight, he knows _she's_ there.

" _They did a number on you…I know the feeling."_

He hears _her_ voice echo in his mind, and feels his senses quickly returning to him.

" _It's almost curious how often you've evaded death…Today, you shall again. Don't feel_ too _indebted to me."_

Her voice growls with sarcasm and annoyance; G.Q never would have imagined her to be a compliment-fisher.

When his eyes snap open, June is herself, and hovering over him with her eyes closed and her hands on his temples.

He jumps up, because all around him is suddenly chaos and it's alive.

Colonel Flag and Deadshot are on either side of June, backs to her and covering her. He's on the floor, and when he looks down he sees that he's in a hospital gown that's practically soaked in blood.

 _His_ _blood_ , he realizes.

But, no open wounds are apparent—he feels at his chest and body—some spots are sore. Some feel... _stitched_?

June opens her eyes, looking exasperated, and sighs with relief upon seeing G.Q awake- _alive_.

"Thank…G.Q, you're okay!" She smiles, but she looks like she's about to topple. "Don't…don't mess with th-those wounds…I couldn't heal them as…well…"

She falls forward, G.Q catching her with his arms as feeling returns to his fingers.

He blankly looks up to his superior—he's lost at what is happening.

Flag looks back at the duo, eyes widening whne he notices June is out.

" _June_?! Floyd, we gotta go! G.Q's up, June's out!"

Deadshot glances back, curses, and reloads another round.

"G.Q, you move?"

G.Q stutters as feeling returns to his toes. He thinks he can stand.

"Y-yes..?"

Lawton, without looking back, reaches down at G.Q, pulling him by his gown up. June is still loosely in his arms. Lawton shoves G.Q behind him, gripping him as they all three stumble back behind a barricade on an upturned cot.

Flag dives behind a machine, and as G.Q ducks, he starts to connect what exactly is going on.

Guards are shooting through broken glass windows into this faux-hospital room. G.Q looks between June, passed out, and Deadshot and Flag. They somehow stormed…wherever it is they're at, and Enchantress healed him...? But he awoke to June, not Enchantress...?

The guards in black stop shooting suddenly, and a blaze of light and screams alerts G.Q to a new player.

Chato.

G.Q dares to look up—sure enough, Diablo has cleared the hallway, peeking in through the broken window to yell at them, "C'mon! Get out, already! Harkness hotwired a truck."

"Waller?"

"Quinn's keeping her occupied."

The building shakes—overhead lights flicker, and G.Q founds he understands far less of what's going on.

"Waller is here?"

"She knew we'd be after you—it's her last card on any of us. Don't worry, G.Q—Quinn stocked up on some toys curtesy her Ex."

G.Q really doesn't know what to say. Harley Quinn? Ex? The Joker..? He still doesn't understand why June is unconscious, why any of them are here…where here even is.

* * *

Flag is suddenly knelt by G.Q, leaning June from him to his own shoulder. She stirs slightly, but Flag whispers something about exerting herself. He lifts her tiny frame into his arms, commanding Lawton to cover. Lawton jerks G.Q up onto his feet and pushes him forward—like hot potato, Chato catches G.Q and is shuffling him down the hall.

"Wh-where are we..?"

"About two hours outside of Metropolis. Sorry it took us so long, buddy-"

"-Yeah, blame Quinn. She wanted to stop and 'pay her respects' to the alien…Who knows why," Lawton growls.

G.Q blinks, trying to recall why he was outside of Metropolis.

"Waller bought out this facility just for you. Feeling special, Edwards?"

G.Q feels like vomiting.

"Wh-why am I..?"

"-Covered in blood? You don't wanna know," Lawton provides, sounding horrified and disgusted all at once. G.Q feels like he ought to, but a part of him agrees with Lawton…

"They were experimenting on you…"

June is so quiet, G.Q barely hears her.

"W-we found you… _open_ …"

June shudders and G.Q feels cold. _Open_?!

"June patched you up, Edwards. Don't think on it," Flag warns, returning then to whisper more to June. He's comforting her, trying to get her to sleep.

G.Q is stumbling down the hall, being caught up on everything that's happened since he was captured outside his Motel 8 room.

How Taskforce X had been reinstated…Lawton's daughter was the blackmail…June and Enchantress, well, he doesn't get much details—Flag is trying hard not to recall them—but it sounds awfully similar to his own state. Then the breakout…Quinn's lair…and finally, from a clue of a memory of Enchantress' where she somehow _felt_ the space and distance covered by a phone call, by the voices, of doctors from her facility to G.Q's, they managed to track him.

They didn't leave him behind.

G.Q hisses when the exit door is kicked down by Chato. Even if it's just the moonlight, it's still far brighter than he's used to, and he air is fresh and strains his lungs as he attempts to soak in as much as he can…

G.Q feels his heart stop in shock—for just a moment—when an ambulance skirts in front of them. The horn honks, obnoxiously, and inside is a grinning Captain Boomerang.

"Get in, sluggas!"

Flag carries June to the back, G.Q limping behind them as they burrow in Diablo is last in through the back, closing the doors solidly behind him. Deadshot jumps into the side seat, throwing his sniper beside him.

"How's Zoe?!"

Digger, without taking his eyes off the road, hands Lawton the com clipped to the dashboard.

"Check the baby monitor yerself."

"Zo'?"

" _Dad_!"

Deadshot sighs with relief, leaning back.

"You and Katanna ok?"

 _"We could've come, Dad…"_

"No, no you most certainly could not! …How's our six lookin?"

 _"No tails. But smoke's coming out from the East side…I think Harley is there…_ "

"Roger. Digger, East entrance."

Digger swerves the car, the tires screeching as Flag attempts to stabilize June and G.Q both.

"Hey, Aussie! _Watch it_! Invalids back here, _right_?!"

Digger shouts back an unapologetic sorry.

* * *

G.Q is glancing past the shoulders of everyone, out through the front window. Sure enough, as they turn along the building's curve, Quinn herself, as if planned (And with her theatrics, it probably was) stage dives from an open window on the second floor. Despite her heels, she lands solidly on the hood of the car, squatted and smirking with her tongue on her tooth at the passengers inside.

"Hey, sailor! Good to see you survived!"

G.Q is stunned and Digger honks the horn, cursing at Harley to "hurry up, quit playin'!"

Rather than throw herself in the back, Harley jumps in with Deadshot, practically into his lap.

"Hey, hey!"

She crawls over him, uncaring, to sit in the center of the front. Whipping a bang back, she smiles at the group gathered before frowning with an afterthought.

"Where's K.C?"

"Where's _Waller_?!" Flag retorts.

As if on command, both make an appearance. First, Waller, through the entrance beneath Harley's window, followed by at least a dozen soldiers dressed in body armor and black. She herself is dressed tactically, holding a handheld in the direction of the runaway ambulance.

"Shoot _without_ discrimination. The witch isn't at full power, we have a very _small_ window to take advantage of!"

And as she shouts this command, Killer Croc bursts through…the wall.

The actual facility's wall.

With two guards in each of his grips, and a third one flying forward ahead of him.

"How'd you two get separated?!" Lawton shouts at Harley, elbowing his window and shattering it. Harley, wordlessly, hands him his sniper, as if knowing his next words—he just as wordlessly takes it, props it against the side of the door, and shoots three men just beside Waller down dead.

Killer Croc throws his two captives at the men, knocking a few down as he sprints for the ambulance. Digger slams at the roof of the car, and Diablo responds by swinging the door open.

G.Q loses his balance, swaying, as K.C climbs in, sinking the ambulance with his weight significantly.

Digger yells like a frat boy drag racing and floors the gas. Deadshot makes a few more shots, but when Harley notes his final aim, she pushes at the butt of the gun to stop his shot.

"No! You can't kill her!"

Deadshot turns back to face Harley as if she spoke of the utmost blasphemy.

"What?" He deadpans.

"You kill her, we're all branded criminals and on the run for the rest of our lives. She wins the validation of being a martyr and with her dies everything—the truth, all of it!"

Deadshot almost interjects, but Harley cuts him off.

" _Everyone_ stays branded. _And_ on the run."

Lawton spares a glance back at Flag, curled with June asleep in his lap. Flag tries not to look up; to act as if he didn't hear Harley. Lawton looks to G.Q, who is still piecing everything together.

Lawton doesn't need to look at the com to remember Zoe, currently (as G.Q would later learn) perched on the roof of a building half a mile away with her father's scope and Katanna at her side.

* * *

"…So? What do we do? She dies, we lose. She lives, we lose. We're on the run, either way!"

The group sit in an empty warehouse along the shore, in Metropolis. Digger picked the lock, and the reunited group quickly scuttled in. They ditched the car a few miles back—Flag torched it. G.Q felt no masculinity drained even as he was carried the way by Croc—really, the only thing he felt was tired. Exhausted. He had dared to look under his shirt (a gift of actual clothes had been waiting for him when Digger had decided he'd crossed enough streets to loose Waller's men, had they been trying to trail them in the first place, and they'd reunited with Katanna and Zoe. Despite the leisure of space that the ambulance provided, they'd switched out for a less conspicuous car that left Croc in the trunk).

His body was riddled with scars and stitches—he'd given up counting how many times he'd been opened up, disgusted by how Frankenstein his torso looked.

They'd pulled out a tarp, and laid it out for Zoe, who was asleep. June, too, was still recovering—from more than today, G.Q imagined—and slept beside the small girl. Everyone else huddled in a circle in the empty garage, morbidly hopeless at their predicament.

Harley is silent for a long time.

"We could make for the border. Fly out, off the continent. Hole up in some small corner of the world; start a commune…"

No one knows if Diablo is serious or not.

"Waller won't stop. We saw that—we've been through that. She wants the power of Chato and June. She wants the obedience of the rest of us. The secrets of G.Q…?! There's too much enticing about…us. We're blood to the sharks…"

Harley slumps, her arms crossed in defeat.

"I'm tired of running," Croc growls in a low voice.

"Then we stop. You said we gotta discredit her, right? Clear our names?"

Everyone looks to Flag, interested in whatever he's proposing.

"And whose gonna listen to us? The government, which Waller has in the palm of her hands? Any other embassy that we haven't offended or thieved from in the months working for Waller...? Who exactly isn't our enemy, but also has a position to help us."

Flag sighs, shrugging.

"I wouldn't…necessarily call him _not_ an _enemy_ …."

"That means he's an enemy," Harley responds with disgust.

"—but, if he _means_ it, with his whole…stance on justice…he might be the only one to listen to us…"

Deadshot pieces two and two, and rolls his eyes back in disgust.

"Oh, _hell_ no."

* * *

 _And if I can be_

 _I'll be your strength_

 _And it won't be long now_

* * *

 **A/N:** ! So, this is actually the second to last chapter! The next chapter is the finale, and you can probably guess the character appearing in it (Hint: He was in Suicide Squad~ haven't I pretty much included every other character from the movie already?) These last chapters have been heavy in plot and low in Flagmoon :'( But next chapter is the opposite! Lots of fluff to close the chapter out~ And I'll try to be more even with the characters' POVs...Some are getting way more love than others~! I'm sorry!

So, this chapter implies a little HarleyxDeadshot, but you don't have to read it that way. I love their dynamic as either friends or a ship, but this story in particular won't press their ship...the only couple I'm pushing way hard in this is Flagmoon~

Expect more flashbacks in the finale, too! Like I said, these last few chapters got plot heavy, but the final chapter, which will probably (fingers crossed) come out between August-October (When summer slows down and before school picks up again...) will be heavy~ on the fluff! Oh, saying that I realize this story also kinda ships KatannaxDigger... Again, a couple I know not everyone ships, so sorry if it's too heavy handed and not your cup of tea...

But we've rescued G.Q! Everyone's reunited, they're NOT splitting up just yet like last time, and Enchantress is even kinda being a good guy..? But it's a necessity for survival... I'll hopefully still explore her more in the final chapter~! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Everything I ever meant to say about it I can't recall right now so...message me if you have any problems with the story, of if there's even a plot point that maybe I forgot about that you want to call me out on! I've found, despite re-reading my own chapters to recall where I left off, I usually forget so much cause I'm always just stuffing chapters with filler and of-the-moment-thoughts, and sometimes people point these out and it's honestly the best thing cause I want to make sure that my stories are as satisfying as they can be to ya'll and it can be incredibly frustrating when stories bring up plot points or things only to never resolve them...Anyway, I realy hope you enjoyed this update, and I'll try to end this story on the highest of notes that I can! Thank you!


	12. Night Sky

Ooooh this has just been sitting on my desktop, never fully pleasing to me but I'm finally just posting it because this story deserves it's closure! I kept struggling with the tenses in this chapter-switching to so much past-tense-third-person, and it was bugging me, except idk maybe the entire story has been told that way-I'm always flip-flopping between tenses, but this chapter it stood out to me and now that I call attention to it, maybe you all will call me out on it too! Sorry!

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters! The title of this chapter and story itself come from the CHVRCHES album of the same name~ Anyway...I hope you enjoy this conclusion!

* * *

 _I can hear you in the overtones_

 _Just an echo of the promise we made_

 _Change the future, we can travel time_

 _Or make us blind so we can never look back_

* * *

Rick holds June tightly against him, wide awake and unable to sleep. She's easily tuckered out and softly breathing against his chest, giving him a rhythmic cooling and heating system spot on his chest that keeps his body constantly aware of hers.

Beside him, the others are curled, closely knit, as if it's a sleepover. Granted, the space they're confined to isn't wide enough to allocate everyone the privacy they might prefer. They're currently holed in a shipping unit, plotted on a ferry. It's day outside, but in their windowless confinement, it's pitch black, cold, and quiet. They won't leave until the ferry docks for the night in Gotham. They'll need the cover of night.

Not to mention it's when their 'guest of honor' will meet them.

Flag both fears and hopes he does, at least.

* * *

The plan is simple enough—Enchantress will infiltrate his lair, leave the note, and then they'll wait and see if he shows or not.

Harley swears he'll be expecting a trap. This is exactly why Flag wrote the note; he's a military type who could pen a letter with all the details, cutting the crap and getting straight to it.

 _Mr. Batman,_

 _I'm former Colonel, no doubt dishonorably discharged unbeknownst to my knowledge at this time, Rick Flag. I am speaking on behalf of myself, Dr. Harleen "Harley Quinn" Quinzel, Floyd "Deadshot" Lawton, Waylon "Killer Croc" Jones, Former Lieutenant "GQ" Edwards, Jack "Digger" Harkness aka "Captain Boomerang", Katanna and Dr. June Moone, and Chato "Diablo" Santana._

Harley wanted the letter to start with more "pzazz" and offered, at the very least, to rob some glitter to pack the envelope. Deadshot merely continued to roll his eyes, still swearing this was their worst possible option.

"It's our _only_ option. He's the only person who will listen to us—to _justice_."

"He'll try to catch and cage us the minute he spots us. He won't pull up a chair and listen to our sorry ass sob story!"

The arguing went on for at least an hour before Zoe finally cut in, reminding her father that Batman could "be understanding". Whatever memory this triggered, it shut Lawton up very quickly.

Flag's letter continues with a curt plea to meet at a designated time and location. He signs the letter, but Harley snatches it, demanding that they should all sign because "It's only fair!"

9 scribbles later (Zoe was hiding her feeling of being left out, but Harley noticed and quickly asked Zoe to sign "the biggest Hancock on the letter, so the Bat will know it's trustworthy!") and Flag has his letter.

Now, he's _sure_ it'll fail.

* * *

Still, it's set aside, and when night falls, and June awakens and has recovered more of her power, she'll deliver the letter.

Next to Flag, Harley twitches in her sleep, flipping between smiles and giggles and whimpers and winces. Lawton is a light, still sleeper, with Zoe hugged as tightly to himself as June is to Flag. Croc surprisingly is allowing himself to be used as a pillow, propped up in a seated position, for Digger of all people. Digger's hand strangely is stretched out, rather close to Katanna, who sleeps much like Lawton—stiff and straight—and Chato huddles in the fourth corner, twitching occasionally. GQ, of all people, snores, but it's soft and disturbs no one. He sleeps nearest Zoe and Lawton. Katanna sewed him up more while June rested, and he's begun to spike a bit of a fever. June offered before they called it a night to continue healing him some with what little magic she could muster, but it was GQ who refused the offer-she needed all her strength for the real test, the real mission, taking place at dusk, and so he instead opted to just get rest. Zoe grew quite attached to him after learning he grew up on a farm—her eyes lit up when he told her about how he cared for goats and cows, and Flag could see the fear in Lawton's eyes that after all this, Zoe will want to settle on some ranch. Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing, though…

June stirs in her sleep and Flag tenses— _please don't let it be time yet…_

Her eyes shoot open and his fear is confirmed. She looks up at him, and silently they agree with their eyes that it's now or never. _This is it._

Their last hope, last chance—if this plan fails, then they're on the run forever. June will forever be fighting to stay out of the reach of Waller. Flag will constantly be glancing behind their backs. They may find somewhere to settle, briefly, but the future they desire? It'll never happen. June will never teach, or be a part of another archeological dig, ever again; at most, she'll get fake IDs made and work as a waitress or librarian for however few months they can afford to stay in one place. Flag? He'll go into construction; it's notorious for the lack of paperwork and background checks. Odd jobs, here and there—nothing like what their current party does, but whatever will pay for their fake papers and passports to keep running.

June will never know a house as her own. They'll never settle enough to…

Well, to live _any_ semblance of a normal life.

Flag looks to the others. _What fate will await them?_ If this plan goes sour...?

Zoe and Lawton will be separated again. Who knows for how long. They'll no doubt be sent on more missions 'utilizing their talents'—goddamn suicide missions. Their luck will run dry, and they'll all be dead within a year or two. Waller will almost certainly see to it. GQ will go back to being a science project.

Flag knows these 'criminals'—but the thing is that they're not. They're human beings, despite what people think of Croc. There's good in all of them—even Digger. And Waller will seek to snuff out the last of that goodness if she gets her hands on any of them.

Or, she'll execute them.

This plan _has_ to work.

June starts to shift, to stand, but Rick holds her arm, pulling her down to stay with him for a moment longer. He whispers softly, so as to not wake the others.

"I love you."

She smiles. It's a sad smile.

"I know. I love you, too, Rick."

"-And this is going to work."

June nods, slowly, before agreeing fully, "Yes. It has to."

So, they both understand the stakes.

"A-and after this works…We'll go to Italy."

June chokes down a laugh, careful not to raise her voice. "It doesn't have to be _Italy_."

"It doesn't. It just _has_ to be anywhere with _you_."

June nods slowly, her eyes glossy despite the pitch-black darkness of the unit. Rick feels for her face, feeling the heat rising, her flush filling in.

"-And wherever it is, wherever we go together…We'll get married."

June openly does choke at this, but no one stirs and Flag feels her face truly raise in temperature now.

"R-Rick, are you…are you asking me to marry you?"

Rick shakes his head, lifting June's hands so they can feel his face in the dark.

"No…No, I'm not asking. You gave me an ultimatum once—you told me to stop Enchantress, even if it killed you. Well, I'm telling you now, June Moone…Marry me, or I might as well be dead. Marry me, and my heart is yours—we're already bonded in…in _so_ many more ways than any couple on this earth will ever understand and…and I love you, possession and all. I loved you the moment I pulled you from that tub. I'll love you even when you're buried beneath Enchantress' control. Hell, I'll love you if the world burns and we'll burn together. And maybe that's tomorrow, or years from now, or…."

* * *

June's mind is panicking; it's silent, and this is what raises alarm. Where is Enchantress in all this, hissing at her? Where are all the self-doubts, and the dark thoughts?

June recalls after they had written the letter, when everyone was slinking about the docks looking for an empty unit to sneak aboard to take them into Gotham from the Metropolis side of the bay. And how Harley had nearly jumped on June's back, scaring the meek girl as they crouched throughout the ship yard.

"Ya ever been to a ballet?"

June had merely shaken her head.

"My ma made me do classes, and I've been to the Opera house a time or two with Mr. J-" Harley smirks, but nothing about her relived memories sound pleasant and even the clown queen can't hide how they aren't.

"Everyone always wants t' see the Nutcracker, or Cinderella. Or the Sleeping Pretty One, ya know? But I had a favorite. It's French."

Harley hunkered down, like this would take some explaining, though June didn't bother correcting Harley on how most of those just mentioned were in fact French.

" _Giselle_? Eva' heard it? Pretty girl, weak heart, an' a pretty prince, fall in love. 'Course, he's hiding who is he really is, and when she finds out who he said he isn't, her weak heart? Can't take. She dies on the spot. But it doesn't stop there! Cause then, all these vengeful spirits welcome her spirit in with theirs, and they hunt down the men that visit their graves and force 'em to dance til they die. And so when her princey comes, an' she's now with these evil spirits, they make him dance. But, at the last minute, she lets him go. She forgives him, and stops the witches or whatevs', and he lives. She's still dead, all for love, and all because of him."

June slowly shakes her head—what has any of this to do with their mission right now..?

"I ain't saying you have a weak heart—hell, you've kinda got two, er, even three. But…you are aligned with an evil spirit."

June feels one of her three hearts drop in this realization.

Harley looks a bit remorseful to even say, but still she continues on—

"So, can you let go of the vengeful spirit? Or…do you let go of him?"

There's a long pause where June is stunned silent before Harley quickly adds, "I'm asking for a friend, is all," and June realizes Harley was comparing herself as much to Giselle as June thought she was comparing _her_ to the tragedy.

* * *

In this moment now, June looked into Rick's eyes, and wondered. Was this the moment where he was dancing to his doom, and she could relinquish him? Stop the vengeful spirits? Let her lover go, and she alone be taken by the grips of the grave, and not force him to suffer with her?

But, she knows Rick. It's too far gone now. He dug the graves for them both and is standing in one, hand out stretched to her. He banished the spirits—it's just him and like Harley said—she has three hearts, practically, and not one weak one. She can't fight off the spirits to save him, because he doesn't need saving. He's chosen to be with her, and she isn't in any danger that she needs to protect him from—herself or otherwise. It's just them.

She recalls that feeling of almost letting the darkness overtake her, and how Enchantress of all voices was the one of reason, and reminded her to live-to fight. June swore to not look back after that ever again. And she doesn't.

He stops talking, trailing off. He can't convey in words how desperate he is to have June in his life…to forever be with her. He feels her pull at him, and their lips hover over each other's. He can feel from her breadth how her mouth grows into smiles, only to settle back into a position ready to close the gap between them. He himself is holding her up, in his lap, just hovering over her. Their breadth mingles and it's unbearable how they tease and taunt each other, leaning in and retracting. It's a game of chicken, and finally Flag throws in the towel, slamming his lips against June's.

He hopes this is her answer—that this is her 'Yes'.

When they break for air, June is still blushing, smiling and light-headed despite the weighted mission before her.

"Yes," she adds, for good measure. Flag laughs, no longer caring if they stir the others.

Which, naturally, they have.

"If I'm not the Maid of Honor, I'll set the venue on fire." Harley deadpans from across the unit.

"She's not kidding." Lawton warns.

" _We know_ …" Flag agrees.

* * *

Croc dents the unit's bottom, then raises it. Even the moonlight is bright enough to cause them all to wince as they pile out from the unit. The ferry and docks are empty. It's just past sunset. It's now or never.

"We'll meet at the designated area. You'll probably beat us there, but we shouldn't be too long," Flag informs June. She merely nods.

He thinks to the last time he asked her on a mission.

" _Just get it done."_

This time, he's not as frightened to lose her. He knows he'll see her again. If nothing else, Enchantress wants to stay by her heart…

June nods, taking the letter from his hands. He hesitates letting go, but finally steps back. June inhales, keeping her eyes on Rick the entire time.

" _Enchantress."_

Her body shivers and a shadow overcomes her. Then, before them, is the witch.

Rather healthy looking, comparatively to her usual appearance. The younger heart helps. Less dirt and ash cover her features. There's sparkles of gold dust instead. Her hair, still thick and black, is sleeked back ever slightly, and adorned with jewelry that is less rusted. There's more shells and jewels than bones, and her markings seem fresher; darker. The chain mail that clings to her body even glistens, cleaner and with etchings to each individual coin Flag had never noticed before. Her eyes even burn bluer now than orange…

 _"May I offer my congratulations?"_

Flag bites the inside of his cheek. Enchantress isn't his favorite person in the world, but no longer does she completely disgust him.

She winks at him, " _I wasn't lying about the fertility spells."_ She holds the letter up, closing her eyes briefly.

"Does she even know where to find him..?" Lawton mutters.

A moment later, Enchantress smiles.

" _Oh…how_ interesting _."_

Before they can question her, and with a flicker of the dock's over hanging street lights, she's gone.

"Well, part one is started. Now, we head to our part."

Digger rubs at his neck.

"Damn, I really hope this works. I think I'm getting an infection from all these open wounds and punctures in meh neck."

"At least you still have one," Harley counters.

* * *

Bruce Wayne raises his glass of champagne, thanking the benefactor for their kind words, and slowly drinks the glass down. It's cheap, he recognizes, but maybe he's just being a bitter guest.

"The one in the gold dress looks charming. What's wrong with her?" Alfred breathes in his ear. Bruce sighs.

It's another keeping-up-appearances galas, on a night when conveniently crime is rather low. Bruce has Alfred keeping him up-to-date every so often with the crime reports. He never likes leaving the suit for so long-and his city- but every few weeks he has to make these appearances to keep the media away from the other half of his life. He glances at the girl Alfred is spying through the cameras, which they've hacked into to give Alfred eyes on Bruce at all times (Bruce now regrets this); Alfred uses these rare nights to try to set Bruce up with…anyone. He scouts the crowds and runs background checks occasionally on the women he sees or overhear Bruce speak to—one of them, he crosses his fingers…just one of them…

"She downs six drugs a night- at least- on her multiply lovers' yachts. On second thought, maybe I should order the ring now-"

"I want grandchildren, not satanic spawns…You win this round, Mr. Wayne, but one day there _will_ be someone you can't say no to."

Bruce snickers, trying to hide the incident as a reaction to someone currently in front of him.

"That'll be _a_ day."

There's silence on the other end, and Bruce sets his glass down, turning away briefly from the guests before him.

"Alfred?"

" _I'm a girl you can't say no to. Consider me a candidate? Actually, I…_ We _…recently got engaged. Come congratulate me. In_ person _."_

It's a woman's voice, but something is off and deep about it.

It's not Selina, he recognizes.

" _Where's_ Alfred?"

But the line goes dead and Bruce is already signaling to the valet to retrieve his car.

Someone found the cave—someone infiltrated his cave and has incapacitated Alfred.

There will be hell to pay.

* * *

When Bruce makes it back to the cave, he doesn't bother with the mask or suit. He steps down from the tunnel entrance from his mansion to under the lake, carefully watching at the corners.

He tries to think of who, or what, could be here.

 _Harley?_ Not likely. The voice was void of Harley's flair and charm…and she wouldn't be here. She _should_ be at Belle Reve…

Ivy? Killer Frost _? It wasn't Diana_ … Bruce stops just at the corner, holding up his watch as a mirror to pear around the corner.

" _Enough stalling,_ Bruce Wayne."

Bruce stiffens. Well, whoever this is, they know his identity.

He steps out, hands up in surrender— "Where is-?"

But, his answer is right there in front of him.

 _All_ his answers, actually.

Alfred is sitting with a cup of tea in hand. He looks irked more than held hostage—there's no bonding. He's just set aside. Atop the table sits…a woman.

Or something posed like one.

She emits darkness; she's definitely a meta. Bruce recognizes it from somewhere, and recalls Waller's folder…

"You're..?"

"- _Just the messenger_." She throws her hands up, to show she's unarmed, but the movement also sends Bruce's hidden battarangs from his reach. She shakes her head—she'll have _none of that_.

She turns her attention to Alfred, who still doesn't look nearly as alarmed as Bruce senses he should be.

" _I'm sorry to have you play along with the theatrics. I've said it before, and I'll promise again…I mean no harm."_

Alfred scoffs.

"Master Bruce, this isn't one to try anything with…I'm in no harm, _as you see_ , and you might as well hear her out…"

The Enchantress twists her fingers and an invisible binding seems to collapse. Alfred loosens slightly, but still remains seated. Bruce lowers his hands, rather perplexed.

"You're the Enchantress, right? The one who destroyed Midway?"

" _I did_."

Bruce is eyeing the nearest utensil. Alfred shakes his head.

"Bruce, hear her out. You took your sweet time getting here, and I've had the chance to chat with… _both_ of them."

"Traffic," Bruce huffs. Hell, the party was in Metropolis and disappearing as the billionaire Bruce Wayne takes more time than disappearing as the Bat…

He eyes Alfred though, cocking a brow at 'both'.

Enchantress closes her eyes, rounding her neck to loosen the muscles.

" _I'm supposed to merely deliver this letter to you. But, I wanted to make sure it got to your hands, and your hands alone…So, as much as your_ sidekick _-"_

"-Butler." Bruce cuts her off. The Batman doesn't have a sidekick.

" _-was obliging to deliver this letter of utmost importance, I merely offered to wait for you…I have the time to kill, being immortal_ ," she winks, sleuthing towards Bruce with a walk that is a half crouch—like a huntress approaching and cornering prey. She tensed delightedly at Bruce's tense reaction to 'sidekick'. He shakes his head, feeling something _crawling_ in the back of it—like an unwanted visitor.

 _Great. She's got_ those _kind of parlor tricks._

Bruce tenses, but Alfred nods as if she can be trusted.

 _In what reality_ , Bruce ponders.

" _This one, dearie_ ," Enchantress answers, and Bruce reminds himself she's… _not norma_ l. Likely to have _several_ tricks up her sleeve.

"So? Where's the letter?"

She holds it out to him, an arm's length away. He watches it, not taking it immediately.

" _Would another form help you to trust it? I can take on_ many _-"_

She makes the teasing mistake to transform into a middle-aged woman with a pearl necklace and brunette hair.

Bruce jumps into action, reaching for a staff, which he swings at the fake form of his mother.

Martha ducks, her form shimmering with a wave as it changes.

Now it's Harley Quinn—she's different than when he last saw her, but she looks…recent? Something about the appearance _feels_ accurate.

" _Batsy_ , _Nasty_ ~ _It was a low blow, wasn't it? Forgive me, if ya believe that I mean it?!"_

Bruce reaches for the nearest projectiles by him—smoke pellets.

He tosses them and this time, in place of Harley, stands Alfred himself, throwing up the palm of his hand to which the smoke bombs explode into, only to suck into a void within themselves, disappearing and creating no stir in the witch.

" _Bruce Wayne, the Batman…"_ This Alfred-doppelganger scolds, shaking its head.

The real Alfred looks irritated now, standing suddenly.

"Enough of these games, Enchantress! Bruce, calm down-!"

Enchantress throws her arm out—now covered in latex as Selina stands before Bruce (He reminds himself these are all illusions) which sends a force that makes Alfred fall back into his seat.

" _He wants to play, let's_ play _. This only stalls for time, and tuckers him out; so, a win-win for me!_ "

Bruce dives behind a pillar.

"Stalls time for _what_? Another _sky beam_ in the sky? This time in _Gotham_?!"

Diana steps beside him, holding out the letter. " _Take the letter, Bruce."_

He flips away from the impersonator. Alfred stands.

"Enough! _June_!"

Diana shivers back into the form of Enchantress, who herself looks as aggravated as Bruce feels.

"Let him speak to _June_!"

Enchantress rolls her eyes, and the cave's lights flicker.

A moment later, the illusion of Enchantress is now of a girl, meek and unfamiliar to Bruce. He takes the jump on her, pining her with the staff at her throat, but Alfred jumps from behind his chair, yelling at him to stop.

"This isn't an illusion! This is the _real_ her!"

Bruce is panting, glaring at the woman—barely not a girl—beneath him. Terror is in her eyes, but she's stiff and trying to remain strong. There's a fire- a flicker- of an ember still to her eyes and she winces, as if holding Enchantress back.

"I-I'm Dr. J-June Moone…I-I'm the host of Enchantress. A-And I have a letter for the Batman. I mean to deliver it, because he…he alone can help my friends and I."

Alfred sighs.

Bruce continues to eye the girl.

"You should have started with this form," he groans.

June sighs with relief that she won't be attacked (or that he'll attempt).

"I tried... I also have to pick and choose my battles with Enchantress. Some are more worth winning than others."

Bruce gives her a helping hand to stand.

"That, and she was eager to meet the man behind the mask…You're _really_ -?!"

Bruce cuts her off.

"Family pension only lasts so many decades. I found a trade I'm rather good in."

Alfred scoffs, storming off to make more tea.

* * *

Rick paces nervously, his eyes glued to the single entrance to the lot.

Harley pops a bubblegum bubble, rolling her eyes in watching Rick worry.

Lawton looks calm, but inside he's just as nervous. Zoe is hiding somewhere nearby, her head low like he told her. She assured him it wouldn't come to a fight. He still warned Diablo, "No big fires." Especially in Zoe's direction.

On either side of them are small businesses, closed and vacant for the night. They stand in the shadows of an empty lot between—a bakery? And a bank? Rick doesn't recall what the signs said. Normally he'd have memorized the entire street, but not tonight. Tonight, all he can think is that June is Enchantress, and he's waiting in an alley with wanted criminals—hell, _he's_ a wanted criminal—and the only one that can help them is…the very person who would throw them all in jail. Unless the letter does its job…

Rick runs a hand over his scalp, ruffling his short, buzzed hair.

 _Where's June?_

"You'll burn a hole in the ground, you might just find yourself in Katanna's backyard!" Harley winks, cackling. Katanna rolls her eyes. She leans against the wall, still, with Digger standing beside her. He's the quietest Rick has ever seen him. Croc, surprisingly, is the least still. Perhaps he feels dry, standing so far from the shipping yard where they'd stowed-away earlier at. He's antsy; wary of the arrival of the very man who locked him away in Belle Reve in the first place.

Harvey sighs, bored of the waiting and Rick's pacing. She pushes herself up from her crossed-leg seated position and walks past Rick to peer around the building's corner. Lawton hisses at her to get back.

"Relax. I'm just playing look-out. Say, Flag-pole, what happens if Batsy just…catches yer girlfriend and turns her in? Then calls Waller on us and we get set up..?"

"Well, Harley, you busted us all out a first time, you can do it again, can't you?" Flag answers, though his voice shakes and gives away his lack of confidence. Lawton keeps glancing in the distant direction of Zoe's hiding spot.

There's a faint, quiet sound in the distance and Harley jumps, gasping as headlights peak from down the road.

"That has to be him!"

"-Or Waller," Lawton mumbles.

Everyone raises theirs hands, preparing for a fight. Croc growls as Harley bounds back into her place amongst the line.

For a moment, they're all still, and the only sound is that of the distant, quiet buzz of the Batmobile (they hope).

Then, suddenly, it's there.

A sleek, unimaginable car that's more tank than car. Low to the ground and heavily armored, it hardly passes as a car save for the four wheels hidden under the tire guards, also heavily armored, that screech to a halt upon turning to face the lot. The top opens and a split second later, a shadow ejects from the seat, soaring rather quickly overhead before landing far closer than anyone was anticipating.

Dressed in all black, it's the Batman.

He rises to stand, facing the group, who all flinch and hold their ground.

Rick looks past him at the passenger seat of the Batmobile, where a figure is slowly crawling out.

 _June_.

"June!"

Rick steps forward, but Batman flinches at this, training a battarang at the disgraced Colonel the moment he moves.

June jumps, raising her arms at the pair.

"No, _don't_! We just want to talk!"

Rick looks between June and the Batman, judging her appearance to gather his impression of the vigilante. He's never seen the man, or creature, in person. But, June is unharmed…she's not bound; she's free…

"June?! Are you alright?"

He asks for good measure.

She nods, smiling meekly at Rick before stumbling towards him, only to be stopped by a hand from the Batman.

"No one move," He mumbles, looking between June and Rick in particular before throwing an eye to Harley and Lawton.

Before any of the others speak up and ruin any chance they have of the Batman taking their side, Rick speak ups.

"Thank you for meeting with us."

Batman eyes the group.

"Is ' _thank you'_ what you really mean?"

Lawton positions his rifle to point between the eyes of the hood.

Harley spits at her feet, swinging her bat.

Rick raises his hands in defense, letting his gun fall to swing by his side on its holster.

"Guns down, everyone!"

No one moves. Kroc growls.

" _Guys_ …" Rick warns.

Harley swings her bat, ignoring how jumpy everyone's reactions are to her move.

"He doesn't look dressed to talk, Flag. He looks dressed to fight."

Lawton shuffles his weight from one foot to the other. His eyes are still fixated on the Batman.

Digger snarls, "When he surrenders and disarms, then I will."

"We just want to talk."

"Then talk." Batman growls.

June attempts to walk forward, but again Batman blocks her from rejoining her mates.

"Let the lass go, mate," Digger snaps.

"June, come here-" Rick pleads.

Batman is antsy, looking between his outnumbering enemies.

"So you can unleash her again on me? She failed in her first attack-"

"I-I didn't attack you!"

KC steps forward, irritated at June being kept from them.

" _Hey_! Don't move!"

June tries again to step forward. Tension has heightened immensely.

"Rick-!"

" _June._ " Rick warns.

"Everyone, calm down," Diablo warns. Batman eyes him, his hand reaching for his belt.

June can hear Alfred cautioning Batman from his earpiece—something the others don't pick up on.

Lawton is a moment away from triggering, and KC growls a preemptive battle roar.

"Let the girl o'er—she ain't leverage," Digger warns a final time.

June, desperate to keep a fight from breaking out, grabs Batman's arm to plead to him to lower his suspicion.

This, however, only jumps the Bat, and in a second he's pinned June down and Lawton has fired—the Batman's cape deflects the bullet and in a moment, he grapples the side of the neighboring building to swing over the now triggered crowd.

Digger lets loose two boomerangs—one cuts the cable, but Batman knocks the second off its' return course to Digger, avoiding the hit as well. KC lunges, but Batman dodges, only to dodge and roll a second and third time when Lawton lets off a barrage of bullets.

June pulls herself up, noticing Rick sprinting towards her, but her eyes are instead drawn to the fighting happening before her.

Rick reaches her, gripping her arms and running his hand over her, searching for any signs of an altercation. June assures him she's untouched, and pushes lightly past him to face the raucous group.

" _Stop_!"

It's a tried and true move, but everyone's weapons leap from their hands. Batman feels the wind knocked out of him, falling to the group, and a force pushes the others back and away from their nemesis as well.

Everyone turns to face June, terrified they'll see Enchantress in her place.

It's just June.

 _You can conjure simple magic…let me teach you, and you could do so much more…_

June ignores Enchantress' tempt.

"You came here to listen, and that's what you'll do. Contrary to our actions just now, we _don't_ want to fight. We _need_ to talk."

Batman grunts, lifting himself up. This isn't his night, and Alfred is scolding him _with "I told you so_ " in Bruce's ear.

* * *

Determining that a truce had been settled, the group had agreed to meet back up with GQ and Zoe at their squatting position. Zoe put on a brave face standing before the Batman for the second time in her life. GQ was in shock.

"He actually came…"

Rick and the others grab what they can to create makeshift chairs. Lawton exclaims he's fine with standing, protectively looming over Zoe. GQ sits nearby, a tarp wrapped around his sickly body, wracking with shivers. He's got dark circles around his eyes and Batman eyes him, wondering what caused this man such a state of distress- present company, or..?

Harley sits on a crate, front and center, mere inches from Batman's dilapidated chair.

"We got a problem, and we need you to fix it."

Batman smirks—it's the closest he'll ever come to laughing.

"You've got to be kidding me."

Digger scratches at his beard, eyeing the floor.

"Af'er attacking ya a min' ago, I can see where yer distrust is comin' from."

Katanna mutters something under her breadth, eyeing Chato—the only two aside from Rick and June who restrained themselves from being involved in the earlier brawl.

"You stand for justice, or so you say, right?" Flag cuts Harley off, desperate to appeal to Batman in a more understandable way.

"Well, we need justice."

"Sure you're not confusing _justice_ with revenge?"

Rick furrows his brow, gripping June's hand as he leans in and tells the Batman their story.

All of it.

He explains how Waller, a woman in the shadows of Washington with immense power and influence, approached him one day. He took the job, because it was an assignment like any other job. And he explained how Waller had this idea for a task-force. Rick points to each and everyone gathered at present, explaining their role and how they were selected.

Batman doesn't seem surprised by any of this.

Rick scoffs. Of course, he doesn't—he knew a part of it. He brought in Lawton for them. He may not have met with Waller in person, but Flag knew it was her tip off to the Bat that brought Lawton in.

Still, the caped crusader is silent, and Rick can only imagine that he knows even more of the story.

He probably knows all about Midland, but still Rick tells their story.

June shrinks when Rick mentions the sky beam, and Enchantress and Incubus.

Everyone drops their eyes, save for Flag and the Batman, when he mentions how Chato and GQ died.

This, finally, catches the man's attention.

"They look better."

And then Flag explains what he is sure the Batman doesn't know. Their story since.

How June was tricked back into hosting Enchantress.

How Harley escaped, only to break back into Belle Reve and break out the others.

How they took Waller hostage and snuck into South America to get June back.

Flag explains how June was in another dimension, where Chato and GQ also were suspended in a limbo state. He admits, this part at least, is what he has the least grasp on.

Then he tells Batman of how they made it back to the states—only for Waller to kidnap Zoe.

Zoe pales, hearing this side of the story. She looks up at her father, who grips her shoulder to assure her everything is alright now.

Rick, for Zoe's sake, leaves out how Lawton seemingly betrayed everyone and was momentarily hated by them all; he only says that in return for Zoe's safety, the Squad was reassembled under Waller's control.

And finally, he mentions the embassy botched mission, and how they have been on the run.

When Rick finishes recanting his tale, Batman remains silent for quite some time. When he does speak, it's not what the Squad want to hear.

"You're criminals. I can't grant you immunity, even if I believed you. I don't hold that kind of power."

Rick stands up abruptly.

"Dammit, what can't you believe?!"

"Rick-" June meekly speaks up.

"June was tortured!" Rick yells. He'd avoided details for Zoe's ears, but recognizes he'll need to put everything on the table if he's going to convince the Batman.

Of everyone, it's Digger who briskly crosses the room.

"Zo, let's leave all this to those who can pay American taxes, ya?"

Zoe wants to be there, but knows this isn't the time. She nods, quickly grabbing Digger's hand before being lead outside the room. Lawton is rather speechless, but quickly overcomes it to step up beside Flag.

"My daughter…" He begins slowly, in case she's still within earshot. "Was used against me. Waller had her surrounded by guards. In her own home."

"Waller went off the books. This was beyond the government or her damn task force—she kidnapped a woman and summoned back an entity that endangers this whole planet."

"If she's such a threat, then perhaps captivity was best," Batman eyes June, aware of her power. June's eyes widen, but it's Lawton who steps in front of her.

"We have had damn bombs implanted in our necks no less than two times—three for Boomer out there. We've been battling for our lives with more than one witch, alright? You've got connections—you have to have something up your sleeve to help us. We would not be speaking to you now, _begging_ you, if you weren't our last hope."

"And if I don't have any tricks up my sleeve that could help you all? Then what do you do. Go back to committing crimes on the streets?"

"-He shot me."

Everyone turns at the sound of Harley's somber voice.

"Mr. J…he shot me, right here," Harley motions to her abdomen, and for a moment Batman looks pityingly at her. He knows their complicated relationship.

"Batsy…" Harley pleads, smiling but suddenly with glossy eyes, "Zoe's a young girl…too young to be on the run with Floydy over here…A-and she can't go back to her mother's…she wants to be with her Pa. She _needs_ to be…"

Harley stands, lifting her arms to Chato.

"A-and Diablo over here? He's done his time. He died for redemption. He's our own Jesus!" She chuckles, but again it's weak. "You'd send him back into Waller's hands to be used as a weapon, when all he wants is to live..? People who come back from the dead…it ain't natural. And people tend to run tests on those that do." GQ coughs, dropping his face.

She smiles at June and Rick.

"They're in love. You're throwing around this idea of whackin' Juney but she's a person, ya know? And Waller is just using her…like Mr. J used me…S-so, Batsy, you gotta take pity on us…we done wrong in the past, but we're people. We're not weapons."

Rick nods at Harley, appreciative of her words. She shrugs, shying back to her crouched position.

Batman finally speaks up.

"I can't promise you won't be hunted by others…But, I know some people…of influence." He glances briefly at June. "I can expose Waller, have her shut out from Washington completely…She may go dark, more so than she seems to have already, but…Maybe I can pull some strings to get you into witness protection."

Everyone perks up at this.

"-But not all of you."

The room seems to understand, eyeing the couple at the center.

"Without a criminal rap sheet on you two, you have the best chance of getting government protection. But, the suits in Washington will be just as cautious about her other half as Waller was," Batman admits honestly. June bows her head.

"We don't need the government looking over us. We just want them to leave us alone."

"Like I said, I can expose Waller, but that's all I can really do. The rest of you have criminal records and multiply life sentences to serve out. I should be taking you all in right now."

" _Should_?" Lawton picks up.

"…I have to meet someone about exposing a person for injustice and treason. I don't expect that you all will be here when I come back...?"

Lawton smirks.

Rick extends his hand.

"We'll take what we can get. Thank you…for listening."

Batman takes the man's hand, firmly shaking it before eyeing June.

She jumps a little before adding, "Whomever your connection is…tell them thank you, as well. Assuming they can do what you say they can."

It's an unspoken promise. His identity is safe with her.

He nods in appreciation, and heads to make his exit.

"Say, how long will this meeting with your inside source take..? Just as a, y'know, heads up for how much time we have to vacate the premise?"

Batman looks back, smirking.

"Not long. This is a house call and I know they'll be up."

* * *

It's four days later, crammed in a motel room that Flag managed to pay off the desk boy in cash to let them be undisturbed, when news breaks of Waller's illegal activities.

The public only get so much declassified, simply learning that the terrorist attack in Midland was indirectly caused by Waller herself, and that she's been relieved of her position in Washington. The televisions are buzzing on every station with several reps from every state trying to deny any involvement with the now-taboo name that is Waller. Curiously enough, in all this political unrest and witch-hunt, there's plenty of interviews by the billionaire Bruce Wayne and his opinion, with his charming smile announcing multiply efforts and charities and funds to go into projects and lives of those affected by Waller.

It takes some further digging by Flag into his military connections to learn that Task-force X has been completely disbanded, and all divisions associated with it as well.

He also gets his hands on the criminal database; himself, June, Katanna, GQ and Chato are all erased from it. No longer are they wanted for any crime.

Harley, Digger, KC and Lawton retain their rap sheets, but with no mention of any charges within the past year.

Rick finds June in the evening with her pant legs rolled up and her feet dipped in the vacant pool. He approaches her, sitting beside her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"You're free," he whispers, and relief washes over both of them.

June feels tears on her cheeks, and smiles before thanking Rick. She leans in and he kisses the top of her head, recalling how it seemed forever ago when he burst in on her in that tub, and she begged him to help her.

He did.

He feels a tug at his heart, and isn't sure if it's Enchantress' proximity to her own life source, or all the pure happiness he feels by being beside June and holding her.

"I'm thinking a small wedding…" Rick finally breaks the silence.

June looks up at him, smiling.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Just a handful of guests."

June pretends to think about the prospect, squinting her nose up, "Like, say…two bridesmaids, five groomsmen?"

"And a flower girl."

* * *

Turns out, only four Groomsmen, as Digger of all people is ordained. The couple insist on getting married in two days' time, before everyone splits off to go underground or back to the shadows.

The Bachelorette party is a story of legend, as Harley 'planned' it all (and by that, nothing was planned, nor did it go according to not-plan). Rick never got the full story from June, but knows Enchantress made an appearance if nothing else because he felt her with his heart (a nifty trick he realizes will always let him know when June is in trouble or Enchantress is out to play).

The Stag party is actually quite tame. Flag doesn't want one, as June also had expressed sentiments, but Digger will hear none of it.

"Just a pop in t' a pub is all!"

It ends with Chato burning a food truck (no one inside, thankfully) and Digger losing a tooth.

Croc keeps Digger's tooth, and GQ whips out the video he recorded on his phone every chance he gets.

The day of the wedding, the band of misfits gather in a field outside of Gotham. Harley has personally dyed her dress and adorned it with haphazard sewn images and embroidery. Her make up is gaudy as always, and the bouquets she provides for herself, Katanna, and June all have a Harley flare to them (Harley's includes poison ivy, Rick notes, and June's is reflective of Enchantress with its herbs and weeds and charred…details).

KC doesn't fit into a suit, and Chato looks like a funeral home advert with his skull tattooed head sitting neatly atop a pressed suit that is rented from the front desk boy and a size too small for him.

Digger has marked his face and body in indigenous markings and burns incense at every corner of the ceremony.

Katanna has her sword strapped to her back.

Only GQ, Lawton, and Zoe look normal. Or rather, did. Harley gets a hold of Zoe and does her hair for her—and while Zoe finds it wonderful and claims to love it, it's not nearly wedding appropriate.

Lawton himself meets with Harley at the beginning of the aisle, mockingly asking how he looks.

"You're missing something…"

Harley ponders a second before grabbing Lawton by the tie. She yanks at it, undoing its loose knot, and then grabs his collar, pulling at it so the top two buttons burst.

She then surprises him by leaning up at his face, but turns at the last second to plant her lips on his now exposed neck.

He's left rather speechless when she backs up, smiling at her victory.

A large, bright red stain of lipstick now decorates Lawton's neck like a tattoo.

Harley winks at him.

"Cleaned up doesn't look so good on you. This is much better."

* * *

Lawton stands beside Flag, repeatedly eyeing Harley. Beside him is GQ, Chato, and then KC. Harley stands as the Maid of Honor, as she demanded, and beside her is Katanna.

Katanna does eye Digger only once, smirking with half her smile at his appearance, and he blushes at this.

It's then that she realizes he's sober.

Zoe skips towards the small party, tossing various objects in place of petals—bottle caps, weeds, coins and debunked grenades. Lawton glares at Harley, who shrugs.

Then, June moves into view, smiling in her knee-length, vintage dress. Around her neck, however, is a rather native looking piece of jewelry, courtesy of Enchantress (As a stand in for her "something old"; Enchantress assures June it's _quite_ old).

Rick never takes his eyes off of June, and nearly misses saying his vows by being distracted by her, only half-hearing Harkness' words.

They exchange rings that Flag did get around to buying (Despite Digger's offer to steal "the best damn rings we can find") and everyone holds their breadth when Digger teases them by pausing before announcing they may now kiss.

Flag whispers a quick "I love you," to June before gripping the sides of her face and pulling her into him. Harley cheers the loudest, though is nearly matched by KC surprisingly.

Tatsu catches the bouquet.

* * *

A few months later, Rick holds June in his arms in the porch of a small townhouse in an undisclosed location. Only a handful of people know where they are at this moment, and even among them only one is properly registered by the government as existing, or 'located'. June holds a postcard that the two continue to reread, as it brings them to tears laughing every time they try to get through it. If not for it's absurdity, then for it's grammatical errors, slurs, and beer stains. And the sheer existence of it.

That Digger Harkness, Captain Boomerang, had thought to send the couple a postcard bought clearly out of a casino gift shop never fails to humor them. In it, he entails about his decision to travel to Japan and learn about 'spiritual Buddhism'; hike Mt. Fuji and visit the 'Emperial Kingdom'. Rick winces every time they pick which parts of his letter allude to China, and the other to Japan, and try to look past his cultural insensitivity because there's a very minor, of-little-importance-P.S 'Oh, and I'm going with Tatsu.'

Lawton called a week back, but the phone call was mostly overtaken by Zoe, who wanted to know if the couple was expecting. June and Lawton, from his end of the line were speechless by the question, and Rick spat up his coffee. Lawton had a job, exterminating, somewhere in Gotham where Zoe had received a scholarship from one of Bruce Wayne's many generous lotteries. Lawton had even struck up a deal with the mayor of Gotham, who had his own hand in corruption and could be tempted, to keep his head low, attend anonymous groups for vets and some rehabilitation programs. The deal was a pain, Lawton griped, but it had won him custody of Zoe, so he didn't mind it so much.

June tried to ask if Lawton had seen Harley.

He couldn't honestly answer yes, but he had an inkling he'd seen her around. There was the occasional feeling of being watched, and whipping his head around to see the fleeting curls of a pale blonde with hints of dye in her tails. The Joker remained at large, but sightings of his Queen were unheard of. There was some rumblings of trouble staring a trio of femme fatales, but Lawton kept his head low and knew nothing of it.

KC returned to Central City sewers, rising up an empire that he comfortably controlled, but it of course had limitations. Yes, drugs were trafficked, but KC was strict with who they were sold to, and some reports of people being actually saved by a man-crocodile monster were also being reported simultaneously. Rick's only reply to this news was "Invite him to Christmas, not Thanksgiving." They wouldn't know what to feed him at the table anyway.

GQ Did go home to his mother, and she nearly did have a heart attack. But, she swore away at it, claiming in her heart she always knew he wasn't really gone. GQ frequented vets meetings, still shell-shocked from all the mystical and not-being-dead. He helped his mother on her farm, and got a steady job that utilized his military background, but also gave him the time off when he needed space. And he spent that space at June and Rick's—he'd pop in for a week or two, saying little. Sometimes he'd talk over beers with Flag about missions. Other times, he'd quietly sit and listen to June's heart, because there was something comforting about that ancient magic of Enchantress that had kept him alive for nearly half a year. Rick would watch the silent two, not understanding the connection until the one time Chato visited and did the same thing. June also worked continuously until the scars and stitches and any residue of GQ's surgeries and testings were physically gone.

Chato ran meetings for reformed criminals himself, and trained anyone from troubled youths to recently released criminals to deal with their anger or their situation. He, too, had a deal with her county, who always remained skeptical of him, but he kept his head low and away from gangs.

When June rose, Rick stared at her silently for a moment, before admitting, "I had that nightmare again. Where you're dying, and Enchantress tells me you're gone."

June looks back at him, alarmed.

"But when I wake up, my heart isn't pounding. It's beating just the same as always—calm. It knows you're safe."

June smirks.

"You're a Hallmark card now?"

"I once said…that the world was going to know all about Waller. I told her to her face I'd expose her, after we saved you. 'I promise you', I'd said right to her. And I kept that promise."

"You did," June nods.

"And that time you told me to stop Enchantress, no matter what it took? I kept that promise, too."

June bites her lip, but nods still.

"Every promise I've ever made to you, I've kept."

June smirks. "Have I not to you?"

"You have. And that's what I really mean to say, is…is we're perfect for each other. I wouldn't want anyone else than my…my witch-possessed wife, who can date a pebble to the century exactly, or tell me about civilizations that I ain't ever heard of. Or can drink me under with a bottle of wine asking me about my father, or having to balls that I don't to demand I kiss her already."

June leans into Rick's lap, smiling.

"When are you going to do that again?"

"Dr. June Flag," He says, and the name is the opposite to her ears than what 'Enchantress' is to her lips. It summons all the good feelings inside her and warms her, and opens her eyes and widens her smile.

"Yes, Rick?"

"I believe…I _know_ …down in my _bones_ and in this enchanted heart of mine…that I belong with you, and that we belong together. And if I have to fight for you for a third time, I'll do it again. But, I'm promising you now…I'll win."

"The good guys always do."

Rick shrugs.

"We're not always the good guys."

* * *

 _I'm the night-sky_

 _I'm the fire in your eyes_

 _And I want you_

 _Now and for all time_

* * *

 ** _A/N:  
_** Fin! I love this couple, however many months/years after this movie came out-haters can hate, but I love this film, and I LOVE these characters and this couple. And I'm happy to have written this reactionary piece! I loved writing these characters, and my only regret is not spending enough time in certain character's POVs, like Chato and KC; but~ I have completed my contribution to the Flagmoon shipping fandom~! And I'm now in a limbo with no current fan fictions~! I don't know what my next project will be, but I have a few ideas and hopefully will post soon again~! Until then, this is me closing the book on these chapters and this story and I thank you all SO MUCH for supporting this fic, or even just reading it, and hope you enjoyed some elements or parts of it~! Thank you all again! That's it~!


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